Forgery Lawyers

Committed by an authority or public official

1. It is altering a document in any of its essential elements or requirements. The alteration must be made on an authentic public or official document, whether legally valid or expired. It may be carried out in any way and may concern essential elements such as place, date, time, signature, performance of the parties, persons appearing, etc.

2. It is simulating a document in whole or in part in such a way as to mislead as to its authenticity. It must be done with a high degree of similarity to mislead as to its authenticity.

3. Assuming in an act the intervention of persons who have not had it, or attributing to those who have intervened in it statements or manifestations different from those they would have made. This crime is a crime of ideological falsehood that must present the following elements for it to occur:

   • Existence of a statement made in a public document and with legal significance.

   • That said, declaration affects essential elements.

   • Existence of a fraudulent intent as a tendential element.

4. Failing to tell the truth in narrating the facts. Like the previous one, this section refers to a crime of ideological falsehood.

The penalty imposed in these cases is imprisonment for three to six years, a fine of six to twenty-four months, and special disqualification for two to six years.

Article 390.2 punishes the person responsible for any religious denomination that incurs any of the conducts described in the previous numbers with the same penalties as those for acts and documents that may affect the status of persons or the civil order.

In this case, it is essential to point out that the penal code equates the person in charge of a religious confession with a public official or lay authority, provided that they commit crimes of falsehood in the exercise of their functions.

Suppose the authority or public official incurs any of the previous falsehoods by grave imprudence or gives place to another to commit them, for example, allowing access to the documents to third parties. In that case, this will be punished with a fine of six to twelve months and suspension of employment or public office for six months to one year.

Committed by a private individual

Article 392.1 of the Criminal Code punishes with a prison sentence of six months to three years and a fine of six to twelve months any private individual who commits in a public, official, or commercial document any offense of forgery described in the first three numbers of paragraph 1 of Article 390:

1. Altering a document in any of its essential elements or requirements.

2. Simulating a document in whole or in part in such a way as to mislead as to its authenticity.

3. Assuming in an act the intervention of persons who have not had it, or attributing to those who have intervened in it statements or declarations different from those they would have made.

A typical example of this crime would be forgery of the identity document or DNI. Article 390, paragraph 2, indicates that the same penalty (from six months to three years of imprisonment and a fine of six to twelve months) will be imposed for the one who, even without having intervened in the forgery, deals in any way with a false identity document.

For this article to apply, it must be proven that the forged document is intended to obtain a financial benefit. If the benefit is not provided, the person who uses a false document cannot be charged with this crime, although its use could be punished.

The use of a false identity document, knowing it to be false, even if the identity documents belong to another State, is punishable by imprisonment of six months to one year and a fine of three to six months.