Forgery

Most of the Kansas forgery convictions have to do with alterations made to either a check or money order. Examples of forgery include finding a lost money order and changing the payee line to the name of the person who found it or taking a blank check from someone else's check book and making the check payable to yourself or finding a check and pretending you are the person who it is made payable. This is of course a non-exclusive list of different scenarios that could be construed to be forgeries. The maximum prison time a person can serve for a forgery conviction is 23 months as demonstrated by the sentencing grid where the maximum punishment for a level eight felony is highlighted below:

The specific Kansas statute that makes forgery unlawful is set forth as follows: 21-3710: Forgery. (a) Forgery is knowingly and with intent to defraud: (1) Making, altering or endorsing any written instrument in such manner that it purports to have been made, altered or endorsed by another person, either real or fictitious, and if a real person without the authority of such person; or altering any written instrument in such manner that it purports to have been made at another time or with different provisions without the authority of the maker thereof; or making, altering or endorsing any written instrument in such manner that it purports to have been made, altered or endorsed with the authority of one who did not give such authority;

(2) issuing or delivering such written instrument knowing it to have been thus made, altered or endorsed; or

(3) possessing, with intent to issue or deliver, any such written instrument knowing it to have been thus made, altered or endorsed.

(b) (1) Forgery is a severity level 8, nonperson felony.

(2) On a first conviction of a violation of this section, in addition to any other sentence imposed, a person shall be fined the lesser of the amount of the forged instrument or $500.

(3) On a second conviction of a violation of this section, a person shall be required to serve at least 30 days' imprisonment as a condition of probation, and fined the lesser of the amount of the forged instrument or $1,000.

(4) On a third or subsequent conviction of a violation of this section, a person shall be required to serve at least 45 days' imprisonment as a condition of probation, and fined the lesser of the amount of the forged instrument or $2,500.

(5) The person convicted shall not be eligible for release on probation, suspension or reduction of sentence or parole until the person has served the mandatory sentence as provided herein.

(c) In any prosecution under this section, it may be alleged in the complaint or information that it is not known whether a purported person is real or fictitious, and in such case there shall be a rebuttable presumption that such purported person is fictitious.