The Office of Notary Public in Louisiana – Forgery

The Office of Notary Public in Louisiana – Forgery

R.S. 14:72. Forgery. A. It shall be unlawful to forge, with intent to defraud, any signature to, or any part of, any writing purporting to have legal efficacy.

B. Issuing, transferring, or possessing with intent to defraud, a forged writing, known by the offender to be a forged writing, shall also constitute a violation of the provisions of this Section.

C. For purposes of this Section:

(1) “Forge” means the following:

(a) To alter, make, complete, execute, or authenticate any writing so that it purports:

(i) To be the act of another who did not authorize that act;

(ii)·To have been executed at a time or place or in a numbered sequence other than was in fact the case; or

(iii) To be a copy of an original when no such original existed.

(b) To issue, transfer, register the transfer of, pass, publish, or otherwise utter a writing that is forged in accordance with the meaning of Subparagraph (l)(a).

(c) To possess a writing that is forged within the meaning of Subparagraph (l)(a).

(2) “Writing” means the following:

(a) Printing or any other method of recording information;

(b) Money, coins, tokens, stamps, seals, credit cards, badges, and trademarks; and

(c) Symbols of value, right, privilege, or identification.

D. Whoever commits the crime of forgery shall be fined not more than five thousand dollars, or imprisoned, with or without hard labor, for not more than ten years, or both.