2006 Ohio Revised Code - 2913.42. Tampering with records.

§ 2913.42. Tampering with records.
 

(A)  No person, knowing the person has no privilege to do so, and with purpose to defraud or knowing that the person is facilitating a fraud, shall do any of the following: 

(1) Falsify, destroy, remove, conceal, alter, deface, or mutilate any writing, computer software, data, or record; 

(2) Utter any writing or record, knowing it to have been tampered with as provided in division (A)(1) of this section. 

(B) (1)  Whoever violates this section is guilty of tampering with records. 

(2) Except as provided in division (B)(4) of this section, if the offense does not involve data or computer software, tampering with records is whichever of the following is applicable: 

(a) If division (B)(2)(b) of this section does not apply, a misdemeanor of the first degree; 

(b) If the writing or record is a will unrevoked at the time of the offense, a felony of the fifth degree. 

(3) Except as provided in division (B)(4) of this section, if the offense involves a violation of division (A) of this section involving data or computer software, tampering with records is whichever of the following is applicable: 

(a) Except as otherwise provided in division (B)(3)(b), (c), or (d) of this section, a misdemeanor of the first degree; 

(b) If the value of the data or computer software involved in the offense or the loss to the victim is five hundred dollars or more and is less than five thousand dollars, a felony of the fifth degree; 

(c) If the value of the data or computer software involved in the offense or the loss to the victim is five thousand dollars or more and is less than one hundred thousand dollars, a felony of the fourth degree; 

(d) If the value of the data or computer software involved in the offense or the loss to the victim is one hundred thousand dollars or more or if the offense is committed for the purpose of devising or executing a scheme to defraud or to obtain property or services and the value of the property or services or the loss to the victim is five thousand dollars or more, a felony of the third degree. 

(4) If the writing, data, computer software, or record is kept by or belongs to a local, state, or federal governmental entity, a felony of the third degree. 
 

HISTORY: 134 v H 511 (Eff 1-1-74); 141 v H 49 (Eff 6-26-86); 141 v H 428 (Eff 12-23-86); 146 v S 2 (Eff 7-1-96); 147 v H 565. Eff 3-30-99.

 

19xx Committee Report or Comment.

1974 Committee Comment to H 511

This section prohibits tampering with all private as well as public records, for fraudulent purposes, and thus expands upon former law which prohibited such conduct only with respect to public documents, wills, animal pedigrees, herd registers, and dairy cattle milk production. In general, the rationale for the section is that substantial harm can, in a given case, result from tampering with a personal letter file, bank statement, or other private document, as well as from tampering with the correspondence files or records in a public office. The section recognizes, however, that substantial harm is more likely to result from tampering with wills or public records, and such conduct thus carries a more severe penalty. Any writing or record kept by or belonging to a governmental agency can be the subject of an offense under this section, and the document involved need not necessarily be a "public record" as defined in section 149.43 of the Revised Code. 

Tampering with records is a misdemeanor of the first degree. If the writing or record involved in the offense is an unrevoked will or a record kept by or belonging to a governmental agency, tampering with records is a felony of the fourth degree.