A person, intending to defraud another, falsely alters a written contract so that it appears to change the parties' legal obligations. Under Penal Law §170.10, what offense has the person most likely committed?
Under Penal Law §170.10(1), a person commits forgery in the second degree when, with intent to defraud, deceive, or injure another, the person falsely makes, completes, or alters a written instrument that is or purports to be a contract or another instrument that does or may affect a legal right, interest, obligation, or status. Here, the instrument is a contract and the alteration changes legal obligations, so §170.10 applies. The statute classifies the offense as a class D felony.
§175.40 applies only to public servants issuing official certificates, not to altering a private contract.
§195.00 applies only to a public servant misusing official functions; altering a private contract involves no official role.
Penal Law §170.10 includes public records in subdivision (2), but it is not limited to public records.
Explanation
Whenever someone, with intent to defraud, deceive, or injure, falsely makes, completes, or alters a written instrument that affects legal rights or falls within one of the listed protected categories in Penal Law §170.10, the offense is forgery in the second degree, a class D felony.
Memory Aid
Think: 'Legal paper + fraudulent alteration = 2nd-degree forgery.' Contracts are listed instruments that affect legal rights.