Texas Penal Code 32.46 – Fraudulent Securing of Document Execution
(a) A person commits an offense if the person, with the intent to defraud or harm any person:
(1) causes another person, without that person’s effective consent, to sign or execute any document affecting property or service or the pecuniary interest of any person; or
(2) causes a public servant, without the public servant’s effective consent, to file or record any purported judgment or other document purporting to memorialize or evidence an act, an order, a directive, or process of:
(A) a purported court that is not expressly created or established under the constitution or the laws of this state or of the United States;
(B) a purported judicial entity that is not expressly created or established under the constitution or laws of this state or of the United States; or
(C) a purported judicial officer of a purported court or purported judicial entity described by Paragraph (A) or (B).
(b) An offense under Subsection (a)(1) is a:
(1) Class C misdemeanor if the value of the property, service, or pecuniary interest is less than $100;
(2) Class B misdemeanor if the value of the property, service, or pecuniary interest is $100 or more but less than $750;
(3) Class A misdemeanor if the value of the property, service, or pecuniary interest is $750 or more but less than $2,500;
(4) state jail felony if the value of the property, service, or pecuniary interest is $2,500 or more but less than $30,000;
(5) felony of the third degree if the value of the property, service, or pecuniary interest is $30,000 or more but less than $150,000;
(6) felony of the second degree if the value of the property, service, or pecuniary interest is $150,000 or more but less than $300,000; or
(7) felony of the first degree if the value of the property, service, or pecuniary interest is $300,000 or more.
Attorney's Note
Under the Texas Codes, punishments for crimes depend on the classification. In the case of this section:| Class | Prison | Fine |
|---|---|---|
| State jail felony | between 180 days and 2 years | up to $10,000 |
| Class A misdemeanor | up to 1 year | up to $4,000 |
| Class B misdemeanor | up to 180 days | up to $2,000 |
Terms Used In Texas Penal Code 32.46
- Act: means a bodily movement, whether voluntary or involuntary, and includes speech. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
- Actor: means a person whose criminal responsibility is in issue in a criminal action. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
- Another: means a person other than the actor. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
- Coercion: means a threat, however communicated:
(A) to commit an offense;
(B) to inflict bodily injury in the future on the person threatened or another;
(C) to accuse a person of any offense;
(D) to expose a person to hatred, contempt, or ridicule;
(E) to harm the credit or business repute of any person; or
(F) to take or withhold action as a public servant, or to cause a public servant to take or withhold action. See Texas Penal Code 1.07 - Consent: means assent in fact, whether express or apparent. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
- Effective consent: includes consent by a person legally authorized to act for the owner. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
- Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
- Felony: means an offense so designated by law or punishable by death or confinement in a penitentiary. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
- Harm: means anything reasonably regarded as loss, disadvantage, or injury, including harm to another person in whose welfare the person affected is interested. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
- Individual: means a human being who is alive, including an unborn child at every stage of gestation from fertilization until birth. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
- Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
- Misdemeanor: means an offense so designated by law or punishable by fine, by confinement in jail, or by both fine and confinement in jail. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
- Owner: means a person who:
(A) has title to the property, possession of the property, whether lawful or not, or a greater right to possession of the property than the actor; or
(B) is a holder in due course of a negotiable instrument. See Texas Penal Code 1.07 - Person: means an individual or a corporation, association, limited liability company, or other entity or organization governed by the Business Organizations Code. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
- Property: means real and personal property. See Texas Government Code 311.005
- Prosecute: To charge someone with a crime. A prosecutor tries a criminal case on behalf of the government.
- Public servant: means a person elected, selected, appointed, employed, or otherwise designated as one of the following, even if he has not yet qualified for office or assumed his duties:
(A) an officer, employee, or agent of government;
(B) a juror or grand juror; or
(C) an arbitrator, referee, or other person who is authorized by law or private written agreement to hear or determine a cause or controversy; or
(D) an attorney at law or notary public when participating in the performance of a governmental function; or
(E) a candidate for nomination or election to public office; or
(F) a person who is performing a governmental function under a claim of right although he is not legally qualified to do so. See Texas Penal Code 1.07 - Trial: A hearing that takes place when the defendant pleads "not guilty" and witnesses are required to come to court to give evidence.
- United States: includes a department, bureau, or other agency of the United States of America. See Texas Government Code 311.005
(c) An offense under Subsection (a)(2) is a state jail felony.
(c-1) An offense described for purposes of punishment by Subsections (b)(1)-(6) and (c) is increased to the next higher category of offense if it is shown on the trial of the offense that the offense was committed against an elderly individual as defined by § 22.04 or involves the state Medicaid program.
(d) In this section:
(1) “Deception” has the meaning assigned by § 31.01.
(2) “Document” includes electronically stored data or other information that is retrievable in a readable, perceivable form.
(3) “Effective consent” includes consent by a person legally authorized to act for the owner. Consent is not effective if:
(A) induced by deception or coercion;
(B) given by a person who by reason of youth, mental disease or defect, or intoxication is known by the actor to be unable to make reasonable property dispositions; or
(C) given by a person who by reason of advanced age is known by the actor to have a diminished capacity to make informed and rational decisions about the reasonable disposition of property.
(e) With the consent of the appropriate local county or district attorney, the attorney general has concurrent jurisdiction with that consenting local prosecutor to prosecute an offense under this section that involves the state Medicaid program.