Forgery

FORGERY IS GENERALLY understood to be the falsification of a person's signature, usually on a check, a deed, or some instrument of importance. The crime of forgery assumes an intent to defraud, with a non-genuine item being offered as genuine. Forgery is also referred to as uttering which is defined as: offering as genuine an instrument that may be the subject of forgery and is false with the intent to defraud. In some instances the act of counterfeiting is used synonymously with forgery.

Forgery is the integral component of many frauds and scams; it can be a criminal act unto itself but is often a part of criminal operation. Art forgery was originally believed to be a type of homage to the great masters, but once the forgeries were sold commercially for profit the threshold of criminal forgery was met. Forgeries range from the common, signatures on checks, to the rare, incarcerated[Page 333] prisoners obtaining their releases with documents they produced in the prison print shop. Some examples of forgery include:

AKC registration record forgery: involves the forgery of American Kennel Club (AKC) records to identify the pedigree of individual dogs and their litters. Forgeries have been uncovered in which potential buyers of certain pedigree lines have later learned that their purchases were based on forged AKC registration documents. Similar attempts have also been noted in the thoroughbred, feline, and rare-bird industries.

Antiquities fraud: involves the forgery of items, excluding archeological, art works, and literary works claimed to be from various time periods. This fraud types includes works such as furniture, weapons and clothing, and antiques in general. As with the works of the grand masters of art, some forgeries are so convincing that legitimate dealers and collectors are often victims of the scam. Casual collectors are easily talked into buying these forgeries especially if a spectacular story is attached to the purchase, or in cases where the buyer believes that they are “scamming” the seller and getting a prized collectible for an incredible bargain. As is the sign of a perfectly executed scam in many instances the victim will never know that a fraud occurred.

Archeological forgery: the forgery of fossils and related items. One noted example is the 1999 discovery of the Archaeoraptor, offered as the missing link between dinosaurs and birds. Detailed inspection later revealed that the fossil was actually a composite created from five specimens from at least two different species. Other archeological forgeries include the Holly Oak pendant, a drawing of a mammoth on a seashell “discovered” in Delaware; the Calaveras Skull, the only evidence of Pliocene Man in North America; Piltdown Man, the jaw of the missing link proving the evolution of man from apes “discovered” in Sussex, England; and the Lenape Stone, an “unearthed” aboriginal carving which was offered as proof that mammoths roamed North America.

Art forgery: has been detailed in both print and films, highlighting some notable art forgers. In some situations, art forgers have later been recruited to detect forgeries, yet allegedly on more than one occasion, they have verified the authenticity of their own forged works. John Drew, a noted English art forger, would forge an artwork and then forge documents concerning the piece's history which would later be found by researchers seeking to authenticate the work.

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