Is forgery and counterfeitting the same thing?
Can you be charged separately for those offenses?
Answers:
They are not the same thing. They are seprate crimes.
No, Yes.
Forgery is the act of signing someone else's name and passing it off as theirs. Signing a check as Henson Smythe when you are not Mr. Smythe is forgery.
Counterfeiting is the reproduction of documents. Usually money but can be negotiable securities such as bearer bonds or stock certificates.
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Each is a separate criminal offense and if one does both, one can be charged with both separately.
No they aren't the same thing. It depends on the criminal code of the state in question, but if they are seperate two acts, you probably can be charged separately for the offenses.
The definition of any criminal offense depends upon the law of the jurisdiction. In the United States, most potentially criminal actions are subject to the jurisdiction of both the state and the federal government. As such, the exact definition depends both on state law and federal law.
Generally speaking, however, forgery involves something like a fake signature or unauthorized alteration of a valid document or writing (e.g. a check). Counterfeiting on the other hand involves the creation of an entirely fake document (e.g. a painting, check, currency, will, etc.)
If an act violates two statutes, it is possible to be charged under both if the jurisdiction authorizes such charges. Depending on the elements of the two offenses in a particular jurisdiction, one of the offenses may be considered to be a lesser-included offense (which normally prohibits being charged with both).
It is also possible to be charged at both the state and federal level, though there are several policies of the Department of Justice that limits such dual prosecutions to exceptional circumstances.
If my translator is right;
forgery is the falsification of anything eg a picture.
counterfeitting is the falsification of money.
There is a roman law sentence: "lex speciali derrogat lex generali". That means if there is a special law then the more general law is not in consideration.
That means: if you make a falsification of money, and your actions are not punished by the law of counterfeitting then you cannot be punished by the law of forgery. That also means if you made a falsification of money, you cannot be punnished twice for forgery and counterfeitting.
So long as I know all civilized nations accept this roman law even Germany and Great Britain (US).
Greetings from Hamburg, Germany
Heinz
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