What Elements Need to be Established to Charge Someone With Counterfeiting?
The prosecution needs to prove that a defendant knowingly attempted to or successfully passed, uttered, published, sold, or kept in their possession an ‘obligation or other security’ of the United States that was forged, altered, or counterfeited, and that they did so with the intent to defraud.
“To pass or utter” means to try to offer the forged or counterfeited item to another person or to a bank with an intent to defraud them. It is not necessary to prove that anything of value was actually received in exchange and the prosecution don’t need to prove that the instrument was even accepted to charge you under this statute.
Are There Defenses to Charges of Passing or Possessing Counterfeits?
The most important element of the charge is that the defendant acted with an intent to defraud. This can also be the hardest element for prosecutors to prove. If you possessed the forged items for prop-purposes and never intended to pass them, or as part of an art piece, that could be a defense to the charge. Another possible defense would be that you did not know that the bill was counterfeit. The prosecution needs to prove that a defendant knew the note, bill, security, or obligation was counterfeited to be able to convict someone under this statute.
