§708-851  Forgery in the first degree.  (1)  A person commits the offense of forgery in the first degree if, with intent to defraud, the person falsely makes, completes, endorses, or alters a written instrument, or utters a forged instrument, or fraudulently encodes the magnetic ink character recognition numbers, which is or purports to be, or which is calculated to become or to represent if completed:

     (a)  Part of an issue of stamps, securities, or other valuable instruments issued by a government or governmental agency;

     (b)  Part of an issue of stock, bonds, or other instruments representing interests in or claims against a corporate or other organization or its property; or

     (c)  All or part of a deed, will, codicil, contract, assignment, commercial instrument, or other instrument which does or may evidence, create, transfer, terminate, or otherwise affect a legal right, interest, obligation, or status and:

          (i)  The purported maker or drawer of the written instrument or forged instrument is a person who is sixty years of age or older; and

         (ii)  The age of the purported maker or drawer of the written instrument or forged instrument is known or reasonably should be known to the person who falsely makes, completes, endorses, or alters the instrument; utters the forged instrument; or fraudulently encodes the magnetic ink character recognition numbers of the instrument.

     (2)  Forgery in the first degree is a class B felony. [L 1972, c 9, pt of §1; am L 1988, c 155, §2; gen ch 1992; am L 1997, c 243, §2; am L 2021, c 147, §6]

Case Notes

  Where defendant gave a counterfeit $20 bill to another person, with the intent to defraud, defendant's action constituted an offense pursuant to Hawaii's forgery statutes; although United States currency is not specifically included in the definition of "written instrument" in §708-850, a counterfeit $20 bill falls squarely within that definition in that it is paper, containing printed matter.  134 H. 81 (App.), 332 P.3d 683 (2014).