2020 Hawaii Revised Statutes
Title 37. Hawaii Penal Code
708. Offenses Against Property Rights
708-851 Forgery in the first degree.
§708-851 Forgery in the first degree. (1) A person commits the offense of forgery in the first degree if, with intent to defraud, the person falsely makes, completes, endorses, or alters a written instrument, or utters a forged instrument, or fraudulently encodes the magnetic ink character recognition numbers, which is or purports to be, or which is calculated to become or to represent if completed:
(a) Part of an issue of stamps, securities, or other valuable instruments issued by a government or governmental agency; or
(b) Part of an issue of stock, bonds, or other instruments representing interests in or claims against a corporate or other organization or its property.
(2) Forgery in the first degree is a class B felony. [L 1972, c 9, pt of §1; am L 1988, c 155, §2; gen ch 1992; am L 1997, c 243, §2]
Case Notes
Where defendant gave a counterfeit $20 bill to another person, with the intent to defraud, defendant's action constituted an offense pursuant to Hawaii's forgery statutes; although United States currency is not specifically included in the definition of "written instrument" in §708-850, a counterfeit $20 bill falls squarely within that definition in that it is paper, containing printed matter. 134 H. 81 (App.), 332 P.3d 683 (2014).
