PNA Law - Northern Virginia Criminal Lawyers
Forgery Defense Attorney
Forgery charges can occur for a number of reasons. For instance, a financial officer passed falsely signed checks in order to get the money. . Regardless of how it occurs, a common element is altering a writing intent to deceive. If you change existing documents or sign someone else’s name to something without authorization and intending to defraud them, you may face forgery charges. This is considered even more serious if you sign a false name to a ticket, summons, warrant or bail document or if you change the figures on a check.
A key element to this charge is knowingly attempting to defraud a person or individual with fake or altered documents. Sometimes mistakes happen or misunderstandings occur amongst people in a business. If this happens, a person cannot be charged with forgery because there was no intent to deceive anyone. Our attorneys can review the facts of your case to determine if the state actually has evidence of intent or if they just have evidence of a mistake. If it is just a mistake, the penalties will be much less severe, if there are any penalties at all.
If convicted of a forgery charge, you may be facing a class 4 felony, which carries with it up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $100,000.
This is especially serious for those in charge of financial information or other sensitive information at their business or place of employment. For a worker, it will likely result in the loss of a job and being prevented from ever working in your field again. For a business owner, banks will almost certainly refuse to give you loans because they will not trust the documents you submit when you apply for credit. By contacting a lawyer these negative consequences may be able to be avoided, securing your freedom and allowing you to work or run your business in peace.
The best way to attack these charges is to attack the documentation head on. By discrediting the documents being presented against you, you may have a chance to beat the forgery charges or get the charges dropped. Without this evidence, the state will have no case. We can examine the documents against you and determine whether this could be a viable strategy in clearing your name. If it is, our attorneys will work tirelessly to cast doubt on their validity.
If you are facing forgery charges, contact the Law Offices of Patrick N. Anderson and Associates. We will fight any charges against you aggressively in order to get you back on the job. No matter what the evidence is against you, we will work to get you the best outcome possible for your particular case. We will also work to answer any questions you may have about these complicated proceedings. With 34 years defending criminal cases, we have the experience and expertise to defend you. Our areas of legal coverage span across the Arlington, Alexandria, Fairfax, and Northern Virginia territories.