THE MICHIGAN PENAL CODE
Act 328 of 1931
750.248 Making, altering, forging, or counterfeiting public record; intent; felony; penalty; exception; venue; "distributed ledger technology" defined.
Sec. 248.
(1) A person who falsely makes, alters, forges, or counterfeits a public record, or a certificate, return, or attestation of a clerk of a court, register of deeds, notary public, township clerk, or any other public officer, in relation to a matter in which the certificate, return, or attestation may be received as legal proof, or a charter, will, testament, bond, writing obligatory, letter of attorney, policy of insurance, bill of lading, bill of exchange, promissory note, or an order, acquittance of discharge for money or other property, or a waiver, release, claim or demand, or an acceptance of a bill of exchange, or indorsement, 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 with intent to injure or defraud another person is guilty of a felony punishable by imprisonment for not more than 14 years.
(2) This section does not apply to a scrivener's error.
(3) This section applies to a person that accomplishes a violation of subsection (1) by altering a record made utilizing distributed ledger technology.
(4) The venue in a prosecution under this section may be in the county in which the forgery was performed; in a county in which a false, forged, altered, or counterfeit record, instrument, or other writing is uttered and published with intent to injure or defraud; or in the county in which the rightful property owner resides.
(5) As used in this section, "distributed ledger technology" means any distributed ledger protocol and supporting infrastructure, including blockchain, that uses a distributed, decentralized, shared, and replicated ledger, whether use of the ledger is public or private, permissioned or permissionless, and that may include the use of electronic currencies or electronic tokens as a medium of electronic exchange.
History: 1931, Act 328, Eff. Sept. 18, 1931 ;-- CL 1948, 750.248 ;-- Am. 1964, Act 101, Eff. Aug. 28, 1964 ;-- Am. 1967, Act 64, Eff. Nov. 2, 1967 ;-- Am. 1991, Act 145, Imd. Eff. Nov. 25, 1991 ;-- Am. 2008, Act 378, Imd. Eff. Dec. 23, 2008 ;-- Am. 2011, Act 206, Eff. Jan. 1, 2012 ;-- Am. 2019, Act 172, Eff. Mar. 19, 2020
FormerLaw Notes:
See section 1 of Ch. 155 of R.S. 1846, being CL 1857, § 5802; CL 1871, § 7631; How., § 9213; CL 1897, § 11659; CL 1915, § 15432; and CL 1929, § 17048.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in
91
cases (
11 in the last 5 years), 1965–2025 · leading case:
People v. Schrauben, 886 N.W.2d 173 (Mich. Ct. App. 2016).
People v. Schrauben, 886 N.W.2d 173 (Mich. Ct. App. 2016).
· cites it 3× “He was sentenced to serve nine months in jail for the forgery convictions, 11 months in jail for the uttering and publishing convictions, and 16 months in prison for the fraudulent insurance acts convictions.”
Kloss v. RBS Citizens, N.A., 996 F. Supp. 2d 574 (E.D. Mich. 2014).
· cites it 8× “Section 750.248 of Michigan Compiled Laws is the criminal code section for felony alteration, forgery, or counterfeit of certain public records, but it does not contain a subsection (4), as alleged by Plaintiffs.”
People v. Pinkney, 912 N.W.2d 535 (Mich. 2018).
· cites it 2× “30(1) of Michigan's Lottery Act, MCL 432.1 et seq ., provides, "A person, with the intent to defraud, shall not falsely make, alter, forge, utter, pass, or counterfeit a state lottery ticket or share.”
People v. Thomas, 475 N.W.2d 288 (Mich. 1991).
· cites it 4× “As a result of the false statement, defendant was charged with forgery, MCL 750.248; MSA 28.445, conspiracy to commit forgery, MCL 750.”
People v. Ford, 331 N.W.2d 878 (Mich. 1987).
· cites it 4× “Shaw contended that the prosecutor had abused his discretion in charging him under the general forgery statute when the statute concerning the unauthorized use of a credit card was available.”
People v. Johnson-E1, 831 N.W.2d 478 (Mich. Ct. App. 2013).
· cites it 3× “Following a bench trial, the circuit court convicted defendant, Anthony Lee Johnson-El, of forgery, MCL 750.248, uttering and publishing, MCL 750.”
People v. Worden, 284 N.W.2d 159 (Mich. Ct. App. 1979).
· cites it 2× “He appeals as of right, raising five issues. I Defendant's criminal history indicates that he has been convicted on six prior occasions.”
In re Adams, 833 N.W.2d 897 (Mich. 2013).
· cites it 3× “” 2 With regard to count two, the master concluded that there was insufficient evidence to find that respondent violated the forgery statute, MCL 750.248, 3 or the uttering and publishing statute, MCL 750.”
People v. Kaczorowski, 475 N.W.2d 861 (Mich. Ct. App. 1991).
· cites it 2× “Defendant pleaded guilty of offenses charged in three separate files and was sentenced to prison terms of 7 to 14 years for forgery of an instrument, MCL 750.248; MSA 28.445, 7 to 14 years for uttering and publishing a forged instrument, MCL 750.”
People v. Billings, 770 N.W.2d 893 (Mich. Ct. App. 2009).
“159j(l), forgery, MCL 750.248, and uttering and publishing a forged financial instrument, MCL 750.”
United States v. Fleming, 201 F. Supp. 2d 760 (E.D. Mich. 2002).
· cites it 5× “§ 750.248). Based upon their experience, the officers also suspected that the car might be a stolen vehicle as they had in the past encountered invalid temporary tags used to conceal the fact that cars were stolen.”
People v. Crawford, 339 N.W.2d 630 (Mich. 1983).
· cites it 2× “NOTES [1] MCL 750.248; MSA 28.445. [2] MCL 750.249; MSA 28.”
— Mich. Comp. Laws § 750.248(1) — 8 cases
People v. Pinkney, 912 N.W.2d 535 (Mich. 2018).
“30(1) of Michigan's Lottery Act, MCL 432.1 et seq ., provides, "A person, with the intent to defraud, shall not falsely make, alter, forge, utter, pass, or counterfeit a state lottery ticket or share.”
People v. Johnson-E1, 831 N.W.2d 478 (Mich. Ct. App. 2013).
“Following a bench trial, the circuit court convicted defendant, Anthony Lee Johnson-El, of forgery, MCL 750.248, uttering and publishing, MCL 750.”
In re Adams, 833 N.W.2d 897 (Mich. 2013).
“” 2 With regard to count two, the master concluded that there was insufficient evidence to find that respondent violated the forgery statute, MCL 750.248, 3 or the uttering and publishing statute, MCL 750.”
United States v. Fleming, 201 F. Supp. 2d 760 (E.D. Mich. 2002).
“§ 750.248). Based upon their experience, the officers also suspected that the car might be a stolen vehicle as they had in the past encountered invalid temporary tags used to conceal the fact that cars were stolen.”
— Mich. Comp. Laws § 750.248(4) — 1 case
Kloss v. RBS Citizens, N.A., 996 F. Supp. 2d 574 (E.D. Mich. 2014).
“Section 750.248 of Michigan Compiled Laws is the criminal code section for felony alteration, forgery, or counterfeit of certain public records, but it does not contain a subsection (4), as alleged by Plaintiffs.”
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