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Competent Forgery Lawyers in Minneapolis, Minnesota

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Criminal & DWI Defense

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Four Minneapolis Forgery Attorneys, One Powerful Law Firm

Attorney Kyle Dreger

Kyle Dreger

Attorney Gerald Miller

Gerald Miller

How Can Our Forgery Attorneys in Minneapolis Help You?

Ordinary Forgery

Aggravated Forgery

Check Forgery

ID Forgery/Identity Theft

Many people equate forgery with a false signature on a document. But in Minnesota, this offense is much broader. Using or possessing a forged instrument is illegal. Destroying or mutilating a document is also forgery. Since almost all these offenses are felonies, the possible consequences are quite severe.

Forgery is generally a technical crime, so at Gerald Miller P.A., we concentrate on technical defenses. Furthermore, we aggressively challenge the state’s evidence. This combination typically produces results which exceed our clients’ expectations.

Ordinary Forgery

In a nutshell, ordinary forgery is altering a document in any way with the intent to defraud another person. Common infractions include:

  • Imitating someone else’s signature,
  • Signing a person’s name without that person’s permission,
  • Changing a label or a provision in an agreement,
  • Possessing a forged instrument (intent to defraud is sometimes difficult to prove in these cases),
  • Destroying a document, and
  • Using a forged instrument.

With the exception of possession cases and possibly a few others, these matters are relatively easy to prove in court for a practiced Minneapolis Forgery Defense Lawyer. The forgery itself is usually rather easy to spot, if jurors look carefully. And, circumstantial evidence is admissible on the intent element.

Fortunately, forgery is a non-violent crime. So, there are a number of possible successful resolutions available.

Aggravated Forgery

The crime of aggravated forgery is more serious than ordinary forgery. Aggravated offenses usually involve high-authority documents, such as:

  • Bank records,
  • Court orders, and
  • Loan documents.

Court orders, particularly family court orders, are among the most common aggravated forgery cases. Most of these documents have multiple pages. Many people are tempted to alter a couple of sentences or financial figures in the body of the order and attach the altered order to the judge’s signature page.

Aggravated forgery cases are a bit more difficult to resolve than ordinary forgery matters. That’s especially true with regard to court or other official document forgeries. Some judges take these cases personally, even if the order was from another court. Whether it is a case of ordinary forgery or aggravated forgery, it is best to hire a Minneapolis Forgery Defense Lawyer. Depending on your case facts, they will help protect your rights and defend your charges vigorously.

Check Forgery

Even with the upsurge in electronic payments, there are still a lot of paper checks out there. Large companies often use paper checks, especially for payroll and other large expenditures, because they leave more of a paper trail. So, Hennepin County financial fraud investigators are always on the lookout for the following schemes:

  • Check kiting,
  • Counterfeiting, and
  • Fraudulent alteration.

Check kiting is writing insufficient checks from multiple accounts hoping that the accounts will have sufficient funds when the bank receives the check. Check kiting is also known as check floating. Fraudulent alteration often involves check washing, which is using chemicals to erase ink and then filling in the blanks.

ID Forgery/Identity Theft

Generally, photo identification forgery is a gross misdemeanor in Minnesota, assuming the document is state issued, like a drivers’ license or identity card, or privately issued, like an ID badge. Passport forgery is a very serious federal crime.

Frequently Asked Questions

Once the court process begins, only a judge or prosecutor can stop it. The judge might throw out a case due to lack of evidence and prosecutors have broad discretion to voluntarily dismiss cases. Witnesses, including forgery witnesses, cannot “drop” criminal charges.

Yes. Forgery is altering a document with the intent to defraud another person. The possible penalties are rather severe. However, since forgery is a non-violent crime, a successful pretrial resolution is possible.

Ordinary forgery, aggravated forgery, and identity theft are the three main types of forgery. Ordinary forgery is falsifying an everyday document, like a membership card or manufacturers identifying label on a product. Aggravated forgery is altering an official document, like a court order or bank record. Identity theft is stealing someone else’s personal information.

Depending on the nature of the infraction, usually the amount of money involved, forgery could mean up to ten years in prison.

How We Make A Difference For You

See What Our Clients Say

doqo
doqo
Hands down the best law firm for helping me with a genuine and meaningful outcome with my case, Kyle, Brian and their team worked hard in producing a successful outcome and they deserve praise. Constant updates, and making sure to complete personal assignments to help me with my case was critical and they helped steer me in the right path and they picked up my phone calls to answer any and all questions during anytime of the day which was fantastic.-Ahmed
Naomi
Naomi
Gerald is by far one of the most knowledgeable attorneys I have interviewed for my case. He gave me solid advice and spoke with integrity. He loves what he does and is passionate. He is the best defense attorney I spoke to. Very easy to understand, no question was unanswered and given more information that I never got from other attorneys.
naghsri immiddisetti
naghsri immiddisetti
They did great, it means a lot. They helped me right away with the questions and concerns. Annalise, you're the best, You answered my call in difficult situations all the time. Highly appreciated and highly recommended.
Samuel Takata
Samuel Takata
Black woman at front desk was quite rude to me, when I was dropping a delivery off.
Igor Kovalchuk
Igor Kovalchuk
Kyle just recently finished my case and i couldn’t be anymore happier. What an amazing experience overall. From picking up my phone call on Christmas Day, and answering all my questions and concerns, to helping me understand the process going forward, and just yesterday he got a verdict I’m an super happy with. I can not even put into words how much I loved working with Kyle. If anyone I know ever needs legal assistance, going forward I will highly recommend this Law-firm and Kyle specifically. Again, thank you Kyle for all your help.
anuta serbinenko
anuta serbinenko
Kyle’s work is amazing, he is true and honest about every detail. He truly is an amazing lawyer! I appreciate his hard work and dedication. Working with Kyle has made a huge impact on my life and future. Open and honest communication and his outstanding service to fight for you is top notch. Once again Kyle you do amazing work, I am grateful.

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Keeping You Informed

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Is Forgery a Felony in Minnesota?

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