When a woman turned in her lottery ticket claiming she had won $52, the only thing she actually won was a potential criminal charge for Forgery. Apparently, when the ticket was scrutinized, it was shown to have been ripped at the top. The woman claimed the 2 tickets she purchased were ripped by the machine when they were dispensed. It seems she used the tope of one ticket and the bottom of the second to create the $52 winning ticket. All lottery tickets are coded and tracked through vendors, making a winning ticket very hard to fake. If a code doesn’t match up, an investigation ensues. The woman, if charged, will be facing Forgery charges.
Manipulating Lottery Tickets: What is Forgery in Larimer County?
The Colorado law definition of Forgery – C.R.S. 18-5-102 – is:
- Part of an issue of money, stamps, securities, or other valuable instruments issued by a government or government agency; or
- Part of an issue of stock, bonds, or other instruments representing interests in or claims against a corporate or other organization or its property; or
- A deed, will, codicil, contract, assignment, commercial instrument, promissory note, check, or other instrument which does or may evidence, create, transfer, terminate, or otherwise affect a legal right, interest, obligation, or status; or
- A public record or an instrument filed or required by law to be filed or legally fileable in or with a public office or public servant; or
- A written instrument officially issued or created by a public office, public servant, or government agency; or
- Part of an issue of tokens, transfers, certificates, or other articles manufactured and designed for use in transportation fees upon public conveyances, or as symbols of value usable in place of money for the purchase of property or services available to the public for compensation; or
- Part of an issue of lottery tickets or shares designed for use in the lottery held pursuant to part 2 of article 35 of title 24, C.R.S.; or
- A document-making implement that may be used or is used in the production of a false identification document or in the production of another document-making implement to produce false identification documents.
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Now, if the woman mistakenly put the wrong top and bottom together, there would be an argument of intent. The statute specifically states that there must be an ‘intent to defraud.’ If it truly was an accident, it would be a horrible injustice for her to be convicted of Forgery. As a class 5 felony, Forgery in punishable by 1 to 3 years in the Colorado Department of Corrections and up to $100,000 in fines in Larimer, Boulder, and Grand County. An experienced criminal defense attorney may be able to argue the lack of intent as a valid defense to this type of criminal charge.