Page 501 - Trump Executive Orders 2017-2021

10204 Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 46 / Thursday, March 8, 2018 / Presidential Documents

(c) That the accused uttered, offered, issued, or transferred the signature or writing;
(d) That at such time the accused knew that the signature or writing had been falsely made
or altered; and
(e) That the uttering, offering, issuing or transferring was with the intent to defraud.
c. Explanation.
(1) In general. Forgery may be committed either by falsely making a writing or by knowingly
uttering a falsely made writing. There are three elements common to both aspects of forgery: a
writing falsely made or altered; an apparent capability of the writing as falsely made or altered to
impose a legal liability on another or to change another's legal rights or liabilities to that person's
prejudice; and an intent to defraud.
(2) False. "False" refers not to the contents of the writing or to the facts stated therein but to
the making or altering of it. Hence, forgery is not committed by the genuine making of a false
instrument even when made with intent to defraud. A person who, with intent to defraud, signs
that person's own signature as the maker of a check drawn on a bank in which that person does
not have money or credit does not commit forgery. Although the check falsely represents the
existence of the account, it is what it purports to be, a check drawn by the actual maker, and
therefore it is not falsely made. But see paragraph 70. Likewise, if a person makes a false signature
of another to an instrument, but adds the word "by" with that person's own signature thus
indicating authority to sign, the offense is not forgery even if no such authority exists. False recitals
of fact in a genuine document, as an aircraft flight report which is "padded" by the one preparing
it, do not make the writing a forgery. But see paragraph 41 concerning false official statements.
(3) Signatures. Signing the name of another to an instrument having apparent legal efficacy
without authority and with intent to defraud is forgety as the signature is falsely made. The
distinction is that in this case the falsely made signature purports to be the act of one other than
the actual signer. Likewise, a forgery may be committed by a person signing that person's own
name to an instrument. For example, when a check payable to the order of a certain person comes
into the hands of another of the same name, forgery is committed it~ knowing the check to be
another's, that person indorses it with that person's own name intending to defraud. Forgery may
also be committed by signing a fictitious name, as when Roe makes a check payable to Roe and
signs it with a fictitious name-Doe--as drawer.
( 4) Nature of writing. The writing must be one which would, if genuine, apparently impose a
legal liability on another, as a check or promissory note, or change that person's legal rights or
liabilities to that person's prejudice, as a receipt. Some other instruments which may be the subject
of forgery are orders for the delivery of money or goods, railroad tickets, and military orders
directing travel. A writing falsely "made" includes an instrument that may be partially or entirely
printed, engraved, written with a pencil, or made by photography or other device. A writing may
be falsely "made" by materially altering an existing writing, by filling in a paper signed in blank,
or by signing an instmment already written. With respect to the apparent legal efficacy of the
writing falsely made or altered, the writing must appear either on its face or from extrinsic facts to
impose a legal liability on another, or to change a legal right or liability to the prejudice of another.
If under all the circumstances the instrument has neither real nor apparent legal efficacy, there is
no forgery. Thus, the false making with intent to defraud of an instrument affirmatively invalid on
its face is not forgery nor is the false making or altering, with intent to defraud, of a writing which
could not impose a legal liability, as a mere letter of introduction. However, the false making of
another's signature on an instmment with intent to defraud is forgery, even if there is no
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resemblance to the genuine signature and the name is misspelled.

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