Ohio Code 2913.31 – Forgery – Forging identification cards or selling or distributing forged identification cards
(A) No person, with purpose to defraud, or knowing that the person is facilitating a fraud, shall do any of the following:
Attorney's Note
Under the Ohio Code, punishments for crimes depend on the classification. In the case of this section:| Class | Prison | Fine |
|---|---|---|
| Felony of the second degree | 2 years or more | up to $15,000 |
| Felony of the third degree | 9 months to 5 years | up to $10,000 |
| Felony of the fourth degree | 6 to 18 months | up to $5,000 |
| Felony of the fifth degree | 6 to 12 months | up to $2,500 |
| Misdemeanor of the first degree | up to 180 days | up to $1,000 |
Terms Used In Ohio Code 2913.31
- Another: when used to designate the owner of property which is the subject of an offense, includes not only natural persons but also every other owner of property. See Ohio Code 1.02
- Clerk of court: An officer appointed by the court to work with the chief judge in overseeing the court's administration, especially to assist in managing the flow of cases through the court and to maintain court records.
- Defraud: means to knowingly obtain, by deception, some benefit for oneself or another, or to knowingly cause, by deception, some detriment to another. See Ohio Code 2913.01
- Disabled adult: means a person who is eighteen years of age or older and has some impairment of body or mind that makes the person unable to work at any substantially remunerative employment that the person otherwise would be able to perform and that will, with reasonable probability, continue for a period of at least twelve months without any present indication of recovery from the impairment, or who is eighteen years of age or older and has been certified as permanently and totally disabled by an agency of this state or the United States that has the function of so classifying persons. See Ohio Code 2913.01
- Elderly person: means a person who is sixty-five years of age or older. See Ohio Code 2913.01
- Forge: means to fabricate or create, in whole or in part and by any means, any spurious writing, or to make, execute, alter, complete, reproduce, or otherwise purport to authenticate any writing, when the writing in fact is not authenticated by that conduct. See Ohio Code 2913.01
- Forgery: The fraudulent signing or alteration of another's name to an instrument such as a deed, mortgage, or check. The intent of the forgery is to deceive or defraud. Source: OCC
- Fraud: Intentional deception resulting in injury to another.
- Person: includes an individual, corporation, business trust, estate, trust, partnership, and association. See Ohio Code 1.59
- Property: means real and personal property. See Ohio Code 1.59
- Restitution: The court-ordered payment of money by the defendant to the victim for damages caused by the criminal action.
- Services: include labor, personal services, professional services, rental services, public utility services including wireless service as defined in division (F)(1) of section 128. See Ohio Code 2913.01
- Utter: means to issue, publish, transfer, use, put or send into circulation, deliver, or display. See Ohio Code 2913.01
- Whoever: includes all persons, natural and artificial; partners; principals, agents, and employees; and all officials, public or private. See Ohio Code 1.02
- Writing: means any computer software, document, letter, memorandum, note, paper, plate, data, film, or other thing having in or upon it any written, typewritten, or printed matter, and any token, stamp, seal, credit card, badge, trademark, label, or other symbol of value, right, privilege, license, or identification. See Ohio Code 2913.01
(1) Forge any writing of another without the other person’s authority;
(2) Forge any writing so that it purports to be genuine when it actually is spurious, or to be the act of another who did not authorize that act, or to have been executed at a time or place or with terms different from what in fact was the case, or to be a copy of an original when no such original existed;
(3) Utter, or possess with purpose to utter, any writing that the person knows to have been forged.
(B) No person shall knowingly do either of the following:
(1) Forge an identification card;
(2) Sell or otherwise distribute a card that purports to be an identification card, knowing it to have been forged.
As used in this division, “identification card” means a card that includes personal information or characteristics of an individual, a purpose of which is to establish the identity of the bearer described on the card, whether the words “identity,” “identification,” “identification card,” or other similar words appear on the card.
(C)(1)(a) Whoever violates division (A) of this section is guilty of forgery.
(b) Except as otherwise provided in this division or division (C)(1)(c) of this section and subject to division (C) (1)(d) of this section, forgery is a felony of the fifth degree. If property or services are involved in the offense or the victim suffers a loss, forgery is one of the following:
(i) If the value of the property or services or the loss to the victim is seven thousand five hundred dollars or more and is less than one hundred fifty thousand dollars, a felony of the fourth degree;
(ii) If the value of the property or services or the loss to the victim is one hundred fifty thousand dollars or more, a felony of the third degree.
(c) If the victim of the offense is an elderly person or disabled adult, division (C)(1)(c) of this section applies to the forgery. Except as otherwise provided in division (C)(1)(c) of this section, forgery is a felony of the fifth degree. If property or services are involved in the offense or if the victim suffers a loss, forgery is one of the following:
(i) If the value of the property or services or the loss to the victim is one thousand dollars or more and is less than seven thousand five hundred dollars, a felony of the fourth degree;
(ii) If the value of the property or services or the loss to the victim is seven thousand five hundred dollars or more and is less than thirty-seven thousand five hundred dollars, a felony of the third degree;
(iii) If the value of the property or services or the loss to the victim is thirty-seven thousand five hundred dollars or more, a felony of the second degree.
(d) If the victim of the offense is an elderly person, division (C)(1)(d) of this section applies to the forgery. In addition to any other penalty imposed for the offense under division (C)(1)(c) of this section, the offender shall be required to pay full restitution to the victim and to pay a fine of up to fifty thousand dollars. The clerk of court shall forward all fines collected under division (C)(1)(d) of this section to the county department of job and family services to be used for the reporting and investigation of elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation or for the provision or arrangement of protective services under sections 5101.61 to 5101.71 of the Revised Code.
(2) (a) Whoever violates division (B) of this section is guilty of forging identification cards or selling or distributing forged identification cards. Except as otherwise provided in this division, forging identification cards or selling or distributing forged identification cards is a misdemeanor of the first degree. If the offender previously has been convicted of a violation of division (B) of this section, forging identification cards or selling or distributing forged identification cards is a misdemeanor of the first degree and, in addition, the court shall impose upon the offender a fine of not less than two hundred fifty dollars.
(b) If the victim of a violation of division (B) of this section is an elderly person, division (C)(2)(b) of this section applies to the offense. In addition to any other penalty imposed for the offense under division (C)(2)(a) of this section, whoever violates division (B) of this section shall be required to pay full restitution to the victim and to pay a fine of up to fifty thousand dollars. The clerk of court shall forward all fines collected under division (C)(2)(b) of this section to the county department of job and family services to be used for the reporting and investigation of elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation or for the provision or arrangement of protective services under sections 5101.61 to 5101.71 of the Revised Code.