Elements and punishment Under
New York State law,
falsifying business records in the second degree is a class A
misdemeanor, while
falsifying business records in the first degree is a class E
felony. The
elements for the misdemeanor second-degree crime are:
Intent is an element of the offense; under New York law, the defendant's "intent" is his or her "conscious objective or purpose." The law does not require prosecutors to show that the defendant intended to cause a pecuniary or commercial loss (i.e., depriving a victim of money or property). The crime becomes one of the first degree, and a felony, when an individual
Prosecutions The offense of falsifying business records is commonly prosecuted in New York, and it is a frequent part of
white-collar crime prosecutions brought by
district attorneys' offices. It is sometimes prosecuted in conjunction with separate crimes, such as petit or grand
larceny,
offering a false instrument,
money laundering, or
insurance fraud. The court rejected the defendants' motion to dismiss the indictment.
Notable cases Notable people convicted in New York of falsifying business records include: •
L. Dennis Kozlowski, the former chief executive and chairman of
Tyco International, convicted in 2005 on 22 counts, including grand larceny, conspiracy, falsifying business records and securities fraud; •
Clarence Norman Jr., a former
New York assemblyman and powerful chair of the
Brooklyn Democratic organization, convicted in 2005 on three felony counts of soliciting illegal campaign contributions during a
primary, and one misdemeanor count of falsifying business records of the contributions; •
Steven Croman, a New York City
slumlord who in 2017 pleaded guilty to grand larceny, falsifying business records and tax fraud as part of a mortgage and tax scheme; •
Donald Trump,
convicted in 2024 of 34 counts of falsifying business records, in connection with a
hush money payment to pornographic film actress Stormy Daniels, becoming the first
U.S. president to be convicted of a felony. ==Other states==