Virginia Forgery Lawyer

Forgery is the falsification of a document. This mostly involves the fraudulent signing of another person’s name in attempt and with the intent to defraud some other person. Generally, this involves forging a person’s name on a contract, some negotiable instrument, or anything that can result in the person whose name is being signed losing money or some other kind of asset of value. The charges for forgery are very serious and require the help of an experienced Virginia fraud lawyer.

Common Forgery Charges

The most common forgery charge is people with false identification. For example, people who do not have identification tell a police officer when they get pulled over for a traffic ticket that they are someone else. That person’s information gets entered into summons and the offender will sign a name that is not their own to that ticket. That probably happens more than all other kinds of forgery cases combined.

There can be a lot of reasons why people might to this. Their license may be suspended, they might not be licensed at all, or perhaps they might just not want their insurance to go up. Although there are a lot of reasons why people might do something like that, people who might be thinking of pulling such a stunt should be cautioned that commission of a forgery is taken very seriously and always results in far worst consequences than any traffic ticket might conjure against a person.

Essential Evidence

Forgery is considered a Class 5 felony in Virginia, which is punishable by one to 10 years in prison. It would need to be proved beyond a reasonable doubt that the person charged actually signed the person’s name or otherwise forged the document. They would need to have the person whose signature was reported appear in court and testify that they did not sign any document. A critical element of any forgery cases is having the person whose name was forged be present to discuss the lack of consent to the person who signed their name.

How a Virginia Forgery Lawyer Can Help

Virginia forgery attorneys can help by presenting necessary defenses to a person’s case. The defense to a person’s case might be that they sign a person’s name thinking that they have the authorization to do so. Say a document was signed without realizing it was illegal, an experienced forgery lawyer can help come up with a defense. On the contrary, if a person did commit a forgery, a Virginia forgery attorney can help by creating a mitigation package that will help soften the blow when in court.

Contact a Virginia Forgery Lawyer

A person should contact a Virginia forgery lawyer as soon as a person finds out they are being investigated or has been charged. If a person is being investigated, often an experienced attorney involved in that investigation will help by preventing them from talking to the government in such way that might negatively impact any eventual prosecution. If a person is charged with the forgery, the attorney will need time to compile evidence for the case and prepare any necessary defenses that might be present. The more time a person gives a Virginia forgery lawyer to help them, the better that lawyer can their job.