What to know about South Caroline forgery law

Residents of Greenville and other nearby areas of South Carolina may want to learn more about laws regarding forgery as seen by the legislature of the state. According to the South Carolina Legislature, the white-collar crime of forgery comes in several forms. It is unlawful to counterfeit or forge writing or an instrument of writing.

Publishing counterfeit writing

Section 16-13-10 of South Carolina law forbids this crime. You cannot publish as real anything that is counterfeit.

Falsification of records

You cannot change, erase or counterfeit any land record. Willingly assisting in defrauding is also against the law. Know that assisting could lead to criminal charges even if you did not conceive of the scheme or crime.

What are the penalties?

Defrauding may carry a fine that is up to the court, and convicted offenders may get prison time of up to 10 years as well. You may get both penalties if the forgery is $10,000 or more.

For forging less than $10,000, prison time will not be more than five years. The court may also impose a fine at their own discretion.

Forgery of other documents is also against the law

Students as well as parents should know that the law covers educational documents. You cannot falsify or alter a transcript, a diploma or the high school equivalency diploma (GED). This is from any high school, college, university or technical college in South Carolina. The law refers to documents from the South Carolina Department of Education or from any other school that grants a transcript or diploma.

Forgery law in South Carolina may require convicted defendants to face jail time as well as a fine. The exact penalty will depend on the amount of money involved in the crime.