West Virginia Code 16-5-38 – Penalties
(a) For acts which occur on or after the effective date of this section, a person shall be guilty of a felony and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not more than $10,000 or imprisoned in a state correctional facility not more than five years, or both fined and imprisoned, if he or she:
Terms Used In West Virginia Code 16-5-38
- Amendment: A proposal to alter the text of a pending bill or other measure by striking out some of it, by inserting new language, or both. Before an amendment becomes part of the measure, thelegislature must agree to it.
- Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
- Dead body: means a human body or parts of a human body or bones from the condition of which it reasonably may be concluded that death occurred. See West Virginia Code 16-5-1
- State: when applied to a part of the United States and not restricted by the context, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories, and the words "United States" also include the said district and territories. See West Virginia Code 2-2-10
- Vital records: means certificates or reports and data related to birth, death, and marriage, including divorce, dissolution of marriage, and annulment. See West Virginia Code 16-5-1
- Vital statistics: means the data derived from certificates and reports of birth, death, fetal death, marriage, divorce, annulment and related records and reports. See West Virginia Code 16-5-1
(1) Willfully and knowingly makes any false statement in a report, record or certificate required to be filed under this article, or in an application for an amendment thereof, or willfully and knowingly supplies false information intending that the information be used in the preparation of any report, record or certificate, or amendment thereof, or in an application for a certified copy of a vital record required by this article; or
(2) Without lawful authority and with the intent to deceive, makes, counterfeits, alters, amends or mutilates any record, report, or certificate required by this article, or any certified copy of the record, report or certificate; or
(3) Willfully and knowingly obtains, possesses, uses, sells, furnishes or attempts to obtain, possess, use, sell or furnish to another, for any purpose of deception, any certificate, record, report, or certified copy required by this article, which was made, counterfeited, altered, amended, or mutilated, or that is false, in whole or in part, or that relates to the birth of another person, whether living or deceased; or
(4) Is an employee of the section of vital statistics or of any office of any custodian of vital records, and willfully and knowingly furnishes or processes a certificate of birth, or certified copy of a certificate of birth, with the knowledge or intention that it be used for the purposes of deception; or
(5) Without lawful authority, possesses any certificate, record or report required by this article or a copy or a certified copy of the certificate, record or report knowing it to have been stolen or otherwise unlawfully obtained.
(b) A person shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not more than $1,000, or confined in jail not more than one year, or both fined and confined, if he or she:
(1) Willfully and knowingly transports or accepts for transportation, interment or other disposition a dead body without an accompanying permit as provided in this article;
(2) Willfully and knowingly refuses to provide information required by this article or legislative rules adopted pursuant to this article; or
(3) Willfully and knowingly violates any of the provisions of this article or refuses to perform any of the duties imposed upon him or her by this article.