Forgery, Counterfeiting & Criminal Simulation Defense in Tennessee

Under Tennessee law, offenses involving document falsification, counterfeiting, and the creation of simulated or deceptive goods are prosecuted under a consolidated white-collar statutory framework. Governed primarily by Tennessee Code § 39-14-114 (Forgery), Tennessee Code § 39-14-115 (Criminal Simulation), and Tennessee Code § 39-14-152 (Use of a Counterfeit Mark or Logo), these charges carry strict felony classifications and substantial sentencing exposure based on financial values or intended harm.

MacNeill Law Firm provides rigorous criminal defense representation across Chattanooga and Southeast Tennessee, challenging complex document trails, examining forensic handwriting or digital evidence, and defending professionals facing white-collar indictments.

• Statute: Tennessee Code § 39-14-114 
• Overview: A person commits an offense if they forge any writing with the intent to defraud or harm another. Under Tennessee Code § 39-14-114, the definition of "forge" is broad, encompassing altering, making, completing, executing, or authenticating any writing so that it purports to be the act of someone who did not authorize it, or to have been executed at a different time, place, or sequence. It also includes making false entries in business books or records, or possessing a forged writing with intent to utter it. 
• Definition of "Writing": Explicitly includes printing, money, coins, tokens, stamps, seals, credit cards, badges, trademarks, and symbols of value, right, privilege, or identification. 
• Penalties: Under Tennessee Code § 39-14-114, forgery is punished as theft pursuant to Tennessee Code § 39-14-105, with a statutory minimum floor making forgery no less than a Class E Felony (punishable by 1 to 6 years in state custody), regardless of minimal financial face values.

• Statute: Tennessee Code § 39-14-115
• Overview: Criminal simulation targets the creation, alteration, or possession of counterfeit objects, antiques, or specialized tools designed to deceive. An individual commits the offense if they make or alter an object so that it appears to have a value of age, antiquity, rarity, source, or authorship that it does not possess, or if they possess specialized machinery, plates, or contrivances designed to produce unauthorized credit/debit cards or fraudulent instruments. 
• Penalties: Like forgery, criminal simulation is graded as theft under Tennessee Code § 39-14-105, with a statutory minimum floor making the offense no less than a Class E Felony. 

• Statute: Tennessee Code § 39-14-152 
• Overview: Prohibits using, displaying, advertising, distributing, offering for sale, selling, or possessing with intent to sell any item or service bearing an unauthorized counterfeit trademark, service mark, trade name, or intellectual property design. 
• Evidentiary Thresholds: Under Tennessee Code § 39-14-152, possession, custody, or control of more than 25 items bearing a counterfeit mark allows the trier of fact to infer an intent to sell or distribute. 
• Penalties: Violations are punished as theft and graded in accordance with Tennessee Code § 39-14-105, scaling from misdemeanors to high-level felonies based on the aggregate retail value of the counterfeit goods.

• Challenging Intent to Defraud or Harm: Forgery and counterfeiting require proof of a specific mental state—that the accused acted with intentional deception or a conscious purpose to defraud. Demonstrating a good-faith misunderstanding, a legitimate belief in authorization, or an accidental clerical error dismantles the core statutory requirements under Tennessee Code § 39-14-114.
• Forensic Document and Handwriting Analysis: White-collar forgery cases frequently rely heavily on questioned documents or digital signatures. We retain independent forensic handwriting and document examiners to audit ink composition, paper aging, and signature authenticity to challenge state-led conclusions.
• Disputing Valuation and Retail Metrics: In counterfeit mark and trademark cases under Tennessee Code § 39-14-152, the severity of sentencing scales directly with the alleged retail value of the items. Rigorously contesting inventory counts and inflated pricing formulas is vital to reducing felony exposure.