1. A person commits the offense of filing false documents if:

(1) With the intent to defraud, deceive, harass, alarm, or negatively impact financially, or in such a manner reasonably calculated to deceive, defraud, harass, alarm, or negatively impact financially, he or she files, causes to be filed or recorded, or attempts to file or record, creates, uses as genuine, transfers or has transferred, presents, or prepares with knowledge or belief that it will be filed, presented, recorded, or transferred to the secretary of state or the secretary’s designee, to the recorder of deeds of any county or city not within a county or the recorder’s designee, to any municipal, county, district, or state government entity, division, agency, or office, or to any credit bureau or financial institution any of the following types of documents:

Attorney's Note

Under the Missouri Laws, punishments for crimes depend on the classification. In the case of this section:
ClassPrisonFine
Class C felonybetween 3 and 10 yearsup to $10,000
Class D felonyup to 7 yearsup to $10,000
For details, see Mo. Rev. Stat.§ 558.011
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Terms Used In Missouri Laws 570.095

  • Affidavit: A written statement of facts confirmed by the oath of the party making it, before a notary or officer having authority to administer oaths.
  • Common law: The legal system that originated in England and is now in use in the United States. It is based on judicial decisions rather than legislative action.
  • Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
  • Credit bureau: An agency that collects individual credit information and sells it for a fee to creditors so they can make a decision on granting loans. Typical clients include banks, mortgage lenders, credit card companies, and other financing companies. (Also commonly referred to as consumer-reporting agency or credit-reporting agency.) Source: OCC
  • Deed: The legal instrument used to transfer title in real property from one person to another.
  • Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
  • Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
  • Financial institution: a bank, trust company, savings and loan association, or credit union. See Missouri Laws 570.010
  • following: when used by way of reference to any section of the statutes, mean the section next preceding or next following that in which the reference is made, unless some other section is expressly designated in the reference. See Missouri Laws 1.020
  • Foreclosure: A legal process in which property that is collateral or security for a loan may be sold to help repay the loan when the loan is in default. Source: OCC
  • Forgery: The fraudulent signing or alteration of another's name to an instrument such as a deed, mortgage, or check. The intent of the forgery is to deceive or defraud. Source: OCC
  • Grand jury: agreement providing that a lender will delay exercising its rights (in the case of a mortgage,
  • Lien: A claim against real or personal property in satisfaction of a debt.
  • person: may extend and be applied to bodies politic and corporate, and to partnerships and other unincorporated associations. See Missouri Laws 1.020
  • Probable cause: A reasonable ground for belief that the offender violated a specific law.
  • Property: anything of value, whether real or personal, tangible or intangible, in possession or in action, and shall include but not be limited to the evidence of a debt actually executed but not delivered or issued as a valid instrument. See Missouri Laws 570.010
  • Real property: Land, and all immovable fixtures erected on, growing on, or affixed to the land.
  • Restitution: The court-ordered payment of money by the defendant to the victim for damages caused by the criminal action.
  • State: when applied to any of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the territories, and the words "United States" includes such district and territories. See Missouri Laws 1.020
  • Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
  • Subpoena: A command to a witness to appear and give testimony.
  • Summons: Another word for subpoena used by the criminal justice system.
  • United States: includes such district and territories. See Missouri Laws 1.020

(a) Common law lien;

(b) Uniform commercial code filing or record;

(c) Real property recording;

(d) Financing statement;

(e) Contract;

(f) Warranty, special, or quitclaim deed;

(g) Quiet title claim or action;

(h) Deed in lieu of foreclosure;

(i) Legal affidavit;

(j) Legal process;

(k) Legal summons;

(l) Bills and due bills;

(m) Criminal charging documents or materially false criminal charging documents;

(n) Any other document not stated in this subdivision that is related to real property; or

(o) Any state, county, district, federal, municipal, credit bureau, or financial institution form or document; and

(2) Such document listed under subdivision (1) of this subsection contains materially false information; is fraudulent; is a forgery, as defined under section 570.090; lacks the consent of all parties listed in a document that requires mutual consent; or is invalid under Missouri law.

2. Filing false documents under this section is a class D felony for the first offense except the following circumstances shall be a class C felony:

(1) The defendant has been previously found guilty or pleaded guilty to a violation of this section;

(2) The victim or named party in the matter:

(a) Is an official elected to municipal, county, district, federal, or statewide office;

(b) Is an official appointed to municipal, county, district, federal, or statewide office; or

(c) Is an employee of an official elected or appointed to municipal, county, district, federal, or statewide office;

(3) The victim or named party in the matter is a judge or magistrate of:

(a) Any court or division of the court in this or any other state or an employee thereof; or

(b) Any court system of the United States or is an employee thereof;

(4) The victim or named party in the matter is a full-time, part-time, or reserve or auxiliary peace officer, as defined under section 590.010, who is licensed in this state or any other state;

(5) The victim or named party in the matter is a full-time, part-time, or volunteer firefighter in this state or any other state;

(6) The victim or named party in the matter is an officer of federal job class 1811 who is empowered to enforce United States laws;

(7) The victim or named party in the matter is a law enforcement officer of the United States as defined under 5 U.S.C. § 8401(17)(A) or (D);

(8) The victim or named party in the matter is an employee of any law enforcement or legal prosecution agency in this state, any other state, or the United States;

(9) The victim or named party in the matter is an employee of a federal agency that has agents or officers of job class 1811 who are empowered to enforce United States laws or is an employee of a federal agency that has law enforcement officers as defined under 5 U.S.C. § 8401(17)(A) or (D); or

(10) The victim or named party in the matter is an officer of the railroad police as defined under section 388.600.

3. For a penalty enhancement as described under subsection 2 of this section to apply, the occupation of the victim or named party shall be material to the subject matter of the document or documents filed or the relief sought by the document or documents filed, and the occupation of the victim or named party shall be materially connected to the apparent reason that the victim has been named, victimized, or involved. For purposes of subsection 2 of this section and this subsection, a person who has retired or resigned from any agency, institution, or occupation listed under subsection 2 of this section shall be considered the same as a person who remains in employment and shall also include the following family members of a person listed under subdivisions (2) to (9) of subsection 2 of this section:

(1) Such person’s spouse;

(2) Such person or such person’s spouse’s ancestor or descendant by blood or adoption; or

(3) Such person’s stepchild while the marriage creating that relationship exists.

4. Any person who pleads guilty or is found guilty under subsections 1 to 3 of this section shall be ordered by the court to make full restitution to any person or entity that has sustained actual losses or costs as a result of the actions of the defendants. Such restitution shall not be paid in lieu of jail or prison time but rather in addition to any jail or prison time imposed by the court.

5. (1) Nothing in this section shall limit the power of the state to investigate, charge, or punish any person for any conduct that constitutes a crime by any other statute of this state or the United States.

(2) No receiving entity shall be required under this section to retain the filing or record for prosecution under this section. A filing or record being rejected by the receiving entity shall not be used as an affirmative defense.

6. (1) Any agency of the state, a county, or a city not within a county that is responsible for or receives document filings or records, including county recorders of deeds and the secretary of state’s office, shall, by January 1, 2019, impose a system in which the documents that have been submitted to the receiving agency, or those filings rejected by the secretary of state under its legal authority, are logged or noted in a ledger, spreadsheet, or similar recording method if the filing or recording officer or employee believes the filings or records appear to be fraudulent or contain suspicious language. The receiving agency shall make noted documents available for review by:

(a) The jurisdictional prosecuting or circuit attorney or such attorney’s designee;

(b) The county sheriff or the sheriff’s designee;

(c) The police chief of a county or city not within a county or such chief’s designee; or

(d) A commissioned peace officer as defined under section 590.010.

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Review of such documents is permissible for the agent or agencies under this subdivision without the need of a grand jury subpoena or court order. No fees or monetary charges shall be levied on the investigative agents or agencies for review of documents noted in the ledger or spreadsheet. The ledger or spreadsheet and its contents shall be retained by the agency that controls entries into such ledger or spreadsheet for a minimum of three years from the earliest entry listed in the ledger or spreadsheet.

(2) The receiving entity shall, upon receipt of a filing or record that has been noted as a suspicious filing or record, notify the chief law enforcement officer or such officer’s designee of the county and the prosecutor or the prosecutor’s designee of the county of the filing’s or record’s existence. Such notification shall be made within two business days of the filing or record having been received. Notification may be accomplished via email or via paper memorandum.

(3) No agency receiving the filing or record shall be required under this section to notify the person conducting the filing or record that the filing or record is entered as a logged or noted filing or record.

(4) Reviews to ensure compliance with the provisions of this section shall be the responsibility of any commissioned peace officer. Findings of noncompliance shall be reported to the jurisdictional prosecuting or circuit attorney or such attorney’s designee by any commissioned peace officer who has probable cause to believe that the noncompliance has taken place purposely, knowingly, recklessly, or with criminal negligence, as described under section 562.016.

7. To petition for a judicial review of a filing or record that is believed to be fraudulent, false, misleading, forged, or contains materially false information, a petitioner may file a probable cause statement that delineates the basis for the belief that the filing or record is materially false, contains materially false information, is a forgery, is fraudulent, or is misleading. This probable cause statement shall be filed in the associate or circuit court of the county in which the original filing or record was transferred, received, or recorded.

8. A filed petition under this section shall have an initial hearing date within twenty business days of the date the petition is filed with the court. A court ruling of invalid shall be evidence that the original filing or record was not accurate, true, or correct. A court ruling of invalid shall be retained or recorded at the original receiving entity. The receiving entity shall waive all filing or recording fees associated with the filing or recording of the court ruling document in this subsection. Such ruling may be forwarded to credit bureaus or other institutions at the request of the petitioner via motion to the applicable court at no additional cost to the petitioner.

9. If a filing or record is deemed invalid, court costs and fees are the responsibility of the party who originally initiated the filing or record. If the filing or record is deemed valid, no court costs or fees, in addition to standard filing fees, shall be assessed.

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