What is the Punishment for Forging a Student Aid Application?
Full Question:
Answer:
The answer depends on all the facts and circumstances involved. Some of the possible charges, among others, typically connected to a forged document include forgery, uttering, fraud, and identity theft. Federal penalties may also apply.
Please see the article at the link below:
http://www.riosalado.edu/rionews/2009/06/rio-salado-exposes-financial-aid-fraud.html
Please see the MA statutes below to determine applicability:
G.L.c. 267, § 1. False or forged records, certificates, returns,
attestations and other writings.
Section 1. Whoever, with intent to injure or defraud, falsely makes,
alters, forges or counterfeits a public record, or a certificate, return
or attestation of a clerk or register of a court, public register, notary
public, justice of the peace, town clerk or any other public officer, in
relation to a matter wherein such certificate, return or attestation may
be received as legal proof; or a charter, deed, will, testament, bond or
writing obligatory, power of attorney, policy of insurance, bill of
lading, bill of exchange or promissory note; or an order, acquittance or
discharge for money or other property or a credit card or an instrument
described as a United States Dollar Traveller's Check or Cheque,
purchased from a bank or other financially responsible institution, the
purpose of which is a source of ready money on cashing the instrument
without identification other than the signature of the purchaser; or an
acceptance of a bill of exchange, or an endorsement or assignment of a
bill of exchange or promissory note for the payment of money; or an
accountable receipt for money, goods or other property; or a stock
certificate, or any evidence or muniment of title to property; or a
certificate of title, duplicate certificate of title, certificate issued
in place of a duplicate certificate, the registration book, entry book,
or any indexes provided for by chapter one hundred and eighty-five, or
the docket of the recorder; shall be punished by imprisonment in the
state prison for not more than ten years or in jail for not more than two
years.
G.L.c. 267, § 5. Uttering false or forged records, deeds or other
writings.
Section 5. Whoever, with intent to injure or defraud, utters and
publishes as true a false, forged or altered record, deed, instrument
or other writing mentioned in the four preceding sections, knowing
the same to be false, forged or altered, shall be punished by imprisonment
in the state prison for not more than ten years or in jail for not
more than two years.
G.L.c. 266, § 37E. Use of personal identification of another; identity
fraud; penalty; restitution.
Section 37E. (a) For purposes of this section, the following words
shall have the following meanings: —
"Harass", willfully and maliciously engage in an act directed at a
specific person or persons, which act seriously alarms or annoys such
person or persons and would cause a reasonable person to suffer
substantial emotional distress.
"Personal identifying information", any name or number that may be
used, alone or in conjunction with any other information, to assume the
identity of an individual, including any name, address, telephone
number, driver's license number, social security number, place of
employment, employee identification number, mother's maiden name, demand
deposit account number, savings account number, credit card number or
computer password identification.
"Pose", to falsely represent oneself, directly or indirectly, as
another person or persons.
"Victim", any person who has suffered financial loss or any entity that
provided money, credit, goods, services or anything of value and has
suffered financial loss as a direct result of the commission or attempted
commission of a violation of this section.
(b) Whoever, with intent to defraud, poses as another person without
the express authorization of that person and uses such person's personal
identifying information to obtain or to attempt to obtain money, credit,
goods, services, anything of value, any identification card or other
evidence of such person's identity, or to harass another shall be guilty
of identity fraud and shall be punished by a fine of not more than $5,000
or imprisonment in a house of correction for not more than two and
one-half years, or by both such fine and imprisonment.
(c) Whoever, with intent to defraud, obtains personal identifying
information about another person without the express authorization of
such person, with the intent to pose as such person or who obtains
personal identifying information about a person without the express
authorization of such person in order to assist another to pose as such
person in order to obtain money, credit, goods, services, anything of
value, any identification card or other evidence of such person's
identity, or to harass another shall be guilty of the crime of identity
fraud and shall be punished by a fine of not more than $5,000 or
imprisonment in a house of correction for not more than two and one-half
years, or by both such fine and imprisonment.
(d) A person found guilty of violating any provisions of this section
shall, in addition to any other punishment, be ordered to make
restitution for financial loss sustained by a victim as a result of such
violation. Financial loss may include any costs incurred by such victim
in correcting the credit history of such victim or any costs incurred in
connection with any civil or administrative proceeding to satisfy any
debt or other obligation of such victim, including lost wages and
attorney's fees.
(e) A law enforcement officer may arrest without warrant any person he
has probable cause to believe has committed the offense of identity fraud
as defined in this section.
(f) A law enforcement officer shall accept a police incident report
from a victim and shall provide a copy to such victim, if requested,
within 24 hours. Such police incident reports may be filed in any county
where a victim resides, or in any county where the owner or license
holder of personal information stores or maintains said personal
information, the owner's or license holder's principal place of business
or any county in which the breach of security occurred, in whole or in
part.
G.L.c. 266, § 76. Gross fraud or cheat at common law; punishment.
Section 76. Whoever is convicted of any gross fraud or cheat at
common law shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for
not more than ten years or in jail for not more than two years or by a
fine of not more than four hundred dollars.
G.L.c. 277, § 63. General provisions.
Section 63. An indictment for murder may be found at any time after the
death of the person alleged to have been murdered. An indictment or
complaint for an offense set forth in section 13B, 13F, 13L, 22A, 23 or
24B of chapter 265, for conspiracy to commit any of these offenses, as an
accessory thereto, or any 1 or more of them may be found and filed at any
time after the date of the commission of such offense; but any indictment
or complaint found and filed more than 27 years after the date of
commission of such offense shall be supported by independent evidence
that corroborates the victim's allegation. Such independent evidence
shall be admissible during trial and shall not consist exclusively of the
opinions of mental health professionals. An indictment for an offense set
forth in sections 22 and 24 of chapter 265, or for conspiracy to commit
either of these offenses or as an accessory thereto or any 1 or more of
them may be found and filed within 15 years of the date of commission of
such offense. An indictment for an offense set forth in sections 17, 18,
19 and 21 of said chapter 265 or section 17 of chapter 272, for
conspiracy to commit any such crime, as an accessory thereto, or any 1 or
more of them may be found and filed within 10 years after the date of
commission of such offense. An indictment for any other crime shall be
found and filed within 6 years after such crime has been committed. Any
period during which the defendant is not usually and publicly a resident
within the commonwealth shall be excluded in determining the time
limited.
Notwithstanding the first paragraph, if a victim of a crime set forth
in section 13B, 13F, 13H, 22, 22A, 23, 24B, or 26A of chapter 265, or
section 1, 2, 3, 4, 4A, 4B, 5, 6, 7, 8, 12, 13, 17, 26, 28, 29A, 29B,
33, 34, 35 or 35A of chapter 272 is under the age of 16 at the time the
crime is committed, the period of limitation for prosecution shall not
commence until the victim has reached the age of 16 or the violation is
reported to a law enforcement agency, whichever occurs earlier.