Legal Definitions - falsifying a record

Falsifying a record is a crime that occurs when someone intentionally alters, destroys, or creates false information within an official document or database maintained by a government agency or public entity. This illegal act is committed with the specific purpose of misleading others, causing harm, or concealing illegal activities.

Here are some examples to illustrate this concept:

• A municipal employee responsible for maintaining public land records deliberately changes the zoning classification of a property in the official city database from "residential" to "commercial" without proper authorization. Their intent is to help a developer bypass legal requirements and build a shopping center in an area not zoned for it.

  Explanation: This illustrates falsifying a record because a public record (the city's zoning database) is intentionally altered with false information (the incorrect zoning classification) to deceive the public and circumvent legal processes for a developer.

• An individual applying for a professional license from a state regulatory board submits an application where they have digitally altered their academic transcript to show a higher grade point average and a degree they did not actually earn. They know the legitimate transcript would not qualify them for the license.

  Explanation: Here, the academic transcript, when submitted to a state licensing board, becomes part of the official records being reviewed. The act of altering it with false information demonstrates an intent to deceive the board and gain a license through misrepresentation.

• A government official overseeing a public works project instructs a subordinate to backdate a critical safety inspection report in the project's official file, making it appear as though the inspection occurred before a structural failure. Their goal is to conceal negligence that contributed to the failure.

  Explanation: This example shows falsifying a record by making a false entry (the incorrect date) in a public record (the project's official file) with the clear intent to conceal wrongdoing (negligence leading to a structural failure).