Charged With Forging a Prescription
Forgery of a prescription blank, tablet or other document in order to obtain medication from a pharmacy, medical provider or other entity is an indictable crime in New Jersey. The offense also happens to be one that can be complicated to understand because it is often intertwined with several charges that sound very similar including theft of prescription pads, prescription fraud and illegal possession of a prescription drug. This page and the content contained here is limited to the offense of obtaining a prescription legend drug via forgery under N.J.S.A. 2C:21-1. Examples of situations where this statute arises include forging information or a signature on a stolen prescription, altering the quantity or dosage of an otherwise valid prescription, or duplicating/copying a prescription. Irrespective of the scenario under which your charges arose, the information on this page should provide you with helpful guidance concerning this offense and the related law.
Our firm has extensive experience defending all forms of criminal offense in Monmouth County, including prescription drug charges. The attorneys on our team include former prosecutors from the county and possess over 100 years in practice combined. If you were arrested in Aberdeen, Colts Neck, Hazlet, Tinton Falls, Neptune or elsewhere in Monmouth County for forging a prescription, we are equipped to effectively defend you. To discuss the specifics of your case with a lawyer on our staff, you may contact our Office in Freehold or another one of our locations for immediate assistance. Initial consultations are always free of charge so do not hesitate to contact our firm.
Forgery or Alteration of a Prescription Under N.J.S.A. 2C:21-1
If you have been charged with obtaining or attempting to obtain prescriptions with a forged document (e.g. “script”), the relevent law is N.J.S.A. 2C:21-1. Forgery is defined in 2C:21-1 as:
“A person is guilty of forgery if with purpose to defraud or injure anyone, or with knowledge that he is facilitating a fraud or injury to be perpetrated by anyone, the actor: Alters or changes any writing of another without his authorization. Makes, completes, executes, authenticates, issues or transfers any writing so that it purports to be the act of another who did not authorize that act or of a fictitious person, or to have been executed at a time or place or in a numbered sequence other than was in fact the case, or to be a copy of an original when no such original existed.”
This statute triggers a wide variety of situations where someone can be arrested for forgery and the most common scenario is changing the dose or number of pills on a valid prescription or completing a script that was stolen. Our attorneys are highly experienced in all varieties of forgery of prescriptions.
Penalties If Convicted Under 2C:21-1. All cases involving the forging of a prescription are handled at the County Courthouse in Freehold as they are indictable in nature. N.J.S.A. 2C:21-1(b) makes forgery of a New Jersey prescription blank a third degree crime. The jail exposure is between zero and five (5) years with a presumptive sentence of 3-5 years in prison. The fine is up to $15,000 upon conviction of altering or forging a prescription.
Freehold NJ Prescription Forgery Lawyers
If you or a loved one has been charged with this offense in Middletown, Long Branch, Ocean Township, Red Bank or anywhere else in Monmouth County, you cannot afford to be without representation. Here at The Law Offices of Jonathan F. Marshall, we have over one hundred years of collective experience in criminal defense at the Monmouth County Superior Court, Freehold NJ. Our attorneys have even served as prosecutors in over twenty-five municipalities in the area. We stand ready to defend you in this difficult time, so please do not hesitate to contact our Freehold Office to speak to an attorney about the specifics of your case. Our Freehold NJ Prescription Forgery Lawyers are available to speak 24/7 at 732-462-1197.
