§ 4906. False reports to law enforcement authorities.
(a) Falsely incriminating another.--Except as provided in subsection (c), a person who knowingly gives false information
to any law enforcement officer with intent to implicate another commits a misdemeanor
of the second degree.
(b) Fictitious reports.--Except as provided in subsection (c), a person commits a misdemeanor of the third
degree if he:
(1) reports to law enforcement authorities an offense or other incident within their concern
knowing that it did not occur; or
(2) pretends to furnish such authorities with information relating to an offense or incident
when he knows he has no information relating to such offense or incident.
(c) Grading.--
(1) If the violation of subsection (a) or (b) occurs during a declared state of emergency
and the false report causes the resources of the law enforcement authority to be diverted
from dealing with the declared state of emergency, the offense shall be graded one
step greater than that set forth in the applicable subsection.
(2) If the violation of subsection (a) or (b) relates to a false report of the theft or
loss of a firearm, as defined in section 5515 (relating to prohibiting of paramilitary
training), the offense shall be graded one step greater than that set forth in the
applicable subsection.
(June 28, 2002, P.L.481, No.82, eff. 60 days; Oct. 17, 2008, P.L.1628, No.131, eff.
60 days)
2008 Amendment. Act 131 amended subsec. (c).
Cross References. Section 4906 is referred to in sections 2709, 2709.1, 6105 of this title; section
6106 of Title 23 (Domestic Relations); sections 5552, 62A05 of Title 42 (Judiciary
and Judicial Procedure).
Notes of Decisions
Cited in
55
cases (
6 in the last 5 years), 1976–2026 · leading case:
Reedy v. Evanson, 615 F.3d 197 (3rd Cir. 2010).
Reedy v. Evanson, 615 F.3d 197 (3rd Cir. 2010).
“The Pennsylvania Crimes Code (the "Code”) states that a person commits the crime of false reporting if he "reports to law enforcement authorities an offense or other incident within their concern knowing that it did not occur[J” 18 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 4906 (b)(1). With respect to…”
Commonwealth v. Demarco, 809 A.2d 256 (Pa. 2002).
· cites it 2× “§ 4904(a)(1), and one count of false reports to law enforcement, 18 Pa.C.S. § 4906(b)(1). [3] Prior to trial, Appellant obtained a report from a medical expert in which the expert found that Appellant was coerced by Larwa into telling the false story to Officer Reynolds and at…”
Commonwealth v. Hawkins, 692 A.2d 1068 (Pa. 1997).
· cites it 2× “This statute will deter and punish individuals who might fabricate false "man with gun" calls. [6] The Third Circuit specifically reserved the issue of the corroborating factors required for an anonymous tip identifying a man with a gun in United States v.”
Mikhail v. Kahn, 991 F. Supp. 2d 596 (E.D. Pa. 2014).
“Setting to one side the logical fact that fraud upon a court would seem to preclude conspiracy with the court, the Court notes that the Pennsylvania Protection from Abuse Act provides that “[a] person who knowingly gives false information to any law enforcement officer with the…”
Ferko-Fox v. Fox, 68 A.3d 917 (Pa. Super. Ct. 2013).
“l), specific penalties for a PFA petitioner “who knowingly gives false information to any law enforcement officer with the intent to implicate another under this chapter commits an offense under 18 Pa.C.S. § 4906 (relating to false reports to law enforcement authorities).”
Commonwealth v. Hlatky, 626 A.2d 575 (Pa. Super. Ct. 1993).
· cites it 2× “There, the court found no merit in the defendant’s argument stating that if witnesses at the grand jury hearings had answered the district attorney’s questions untruthfully, *80 they could have been prosecuted for false reports to law enforcement authorities under 18 Pa.C.S. §…”
Commonwealth v. Williams, 980 A.2d 667 (Pa. Super. Ct. 2009).
“Such a tip must be given more weight than a mere anonymous phone call because “a person who knowingly gives false information to any law enforcement officer with intent to implicate another” may be held criminally liable.”
Commonwealth v. Slater, 363 A.2d 1257 (Pa. Super. Ct. 1976).
· cites it 4× “§ 4903 [2] and 18 Pa.C.S. § 4906. [3] Both offenses are misdemeanors of the second degree, punishable by up to two years imprisonment and by a fine not exceeding $5,000.”
Commonwealth v. Karaffa, 709 A.2d 887 (Pa. 1998).
· cites it 2× “§ 3126), making false reports (18 Pa.C.S. § 4906), indecent exposure (18 Pa.”
Johnson v. State, 542 A.2d 429 (Md. Ct. Spec. App. 1988).
· cites it 2× “§ 2C:28-4 (West 1982); 18 Pa. Cons. Stat. Ann. § 4906 (Purdon 1983, 1987 Cum.”
R.H.S. v. Allegheny Cnty. Dep't of Human Servs., 936 A.2d 1218 (Pa. Commw. Ct. 2007).
“18 Pa.C.S. § 4906. Here, even assuming Tarasí had a duty to investigate Plaintiffs commitment, Plaintiff failed to plead Tarasí acted with the intent to mislead the PSP or make false statements which he knew to be untrue or lacking authenticity.”
— 18 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 4906(B) — 1 case
— 18 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 4906(a) — 20 cases
— 18 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 4906(b) — 3 cases
— 18 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 4906(b)(1) — 7 cases
Commonwealth v. Demarco, 809 A.2d 256 (Pa. 2002).
“§ 4904(a)(1), and one count of false reports to law enforcement, 18 Pa.C.S. § 4906(b)(1). [3] Prior to trial, Appellant obtained a report from a medical expert in which the expert found that Appellant was coerced by Larwa into telling the false story to Officer Reynolds and at…”
Commonwealth v. Hlatky, 626 A.2d 575 (Pa. Super. Ct. 1993).
“There, the court found no merit in the defendant’s argument stating that if witnesses at the grand jury hearings had answered the district attorney’s questions untruthfully, *80 they could have been prosecuted for false reports to law enforcement authorities under 18 Pa.C.S. §…”
— 18 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 4906(b)(I) — 1 case
— 18 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 4906(b)(l) — 4 cases
Commonwealth v. Demarco, 809 A.2d 256 (Pa. 2002).
“§ 4904(a)(1), and one count of false reports to law enforcement, 18 Pa.C.S. § 4906(b)(1). [3] Prior to trial, Appellant obtained a report from a medical expert in which the expert found that Appellant was coerced by Larwa into telling the false story to Officer Reynolds and at…”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the
Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and
treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.