Legal Definitions - falsify

To falsify means to intentionally alter, misrepresent, or create something untrue with the purpose of deceiving others or making it appear genuine. It involves making something false, often by forging, counterfeiting, or fabricating information or documents.

Here are some examples illustrating the concept of falsifying:

• Example 1: Altering Financial Records

  A small business owner, wanting to reduce their tax liability, deliberately changes the company's expense reports to show higher costs than were actually incurred. They create fake invoices and inflate existing ones to make it seem like the business spent more money, thereby lowering its reported profits.

  This illustrates falsifying because the business owner intentionally created false financial information (fake and inflated invoices) to deceive tax authorities about the company's true profitability.

• Example 2: Forging a Signature on a Contract

  An individual needs a co-signer for a loan but cannot find anyone willing. Desperate, they sign their sibling's name on the loan agreement without their sibling's knowledge or permission, making it appear as though the sibling agreed to be responsible for the debt.

  This demonstrates falsifying because the individual created a false representation (a forged signature) on a legal document to make it seem like their sibling consented to the agreement, thereby deceiving the lender.

• Example 3: Fabricating Research Data

  A researcher conducting a study on a new drug is under pressure to show positive results. When some of the experimental data does not support their hypothesis, they invent new data points and modify existing ones in their lab notebooks and final report to make the drug appear more effective than it truly is.

  This exemplifies falsifying because the researcher intentionally created and altered data to present a misleading and untrue picture of the drug's efficacy, aiming to deceive the scientific community and potential investors.