QDE_LESSON 4

Prepared by: CAM Gonzales

INTRODUCTION

Welcome to Lesson 4! In this lesson, you will explore the history of forgety and real cases where documents became key evidence in solving crimes and deciding court cases. Many investigations do not rely only on witnesses or physical objects, sometimes, a signature, letter, check, or written note can reveal the truth. By looking at selected cases involving Questioned Document Examination (QDE), you will see how forensic document examiners analyze documents to detect forgery, alterations, and authenticity issues. These cases will help you understand how QDE is applied in actual investigations, why document evidence is important in court, and how it can influence judicial decisions.

By the end of this lesson, you will be able to:

Expplain the hidtory of forgery.
Explain the facts and circumstances of selected cases involving questioned document examination.
Discuss how questioned document examination was applied in each case.

HISTORY OF FORGERY

80 BCE (Before Common Era)

Roman law prohibited the falsification of documents that transferred lands to heirs.
Lex Cornelia ( Lex Cornelia de falsis)
Roman dictator Lucius Cornelius Sulla
Proscription Lists- death &property seized
Quaestio de Falsis- court
Punishment: Exile or death

In 80 BC, under Lucius Cornelius Sulla, Rome enacted the Lex Cornelia de falsis, which criminalized the falsification of documents—especially those used to transfer land and inheritance. Forged documents were tried before a special court, the Quaestio de Falsis, with severe penalties such as exile or death.

Middle Ages (500-1400)

Forgery became prevalent in Europe
Monks has monopoly over literacy
Pious Fraud
Documents are made of parchment (sheep, goat, or calf)
Palimpsest-scarping the ink using stone, knife or acidic substance like milk.
Smoke Technique- aging the documents

In medieval Europe, forgery quietly spread, especially where power depended on written records. Monks, who held a monopoly over literacy, were often the only ones capable of creating or altering documents. Some justified their actions as “pious fraud”—forging documents to benefit the Church, believing the holy purpose made it acceptable.

Documents were written on parchment made from sheep, goat, or calf skin, which could be reused. To erase old writing, scribes created a palimpsest, scraping off ink with a stone or knife, or washing it away with acidic substances like milk. To make new forgeries look ancient, they even used smoke to artificially age the documents.

1592 (England)

England passed a statute prohibiting forgery of publicly recorded and officially sealed documents, specifically those pertaining to titles to land.
Statute of 5 Eliz c. 14
Forgery is a criminal offense
Brutal physical branding or public shaming or maiming as a brand
•Public pillory, ears cut off, and nostrils slit and seared with hot irons.

In 1562, England tightened its grip on forged documents. Under Queen Elizabeth I, the Statute of 5 Eliz. c. 14 declared the falsification of officially sealed and publicly recorded land documents a serious crime. Land meant power, and forged titles threatened the very order of society.

When a forger was caught, the punishment was meant to warn everyone. The offender was dragged to the public pillory, exposed to ridicule and shame. Some were branded, maimed, or mutilated—their ears cut off or nostrils slit and seared with hot irons—so their crime would be written permanently on their bodies

1726 (England)

False endorsement on an unsealed private document was later recognized as a crime, punishable by the pillory, fines, imprisonment, and, in severe cases, death.
Rex v. Ward -The court decided that any act of forging a writing "with the intent to defraud" someone was a common law crime.
This created the foundation of Modern Fraud Law

A man added a false endorsement to an unsealed private document, thinking it a clever trick. The courts thought otherwise. Crowds gathered as offenders were sent to the pillory, fined, imprisoned and in the gravest cases, condemned to die.

Then came Rex v. Ward. The judges drew a sharp line in the law: any writing forged with the intent to defraud was not just deceit—it was a common law crime. Motive mattered. Intent mattered. The pen itself became evidence. From that ruling grew a lasting principle, one that still guides courts today laying the foundation of Modern Fraud Law, where the crime is not just the false document, but the deliberate attempt to deceive.

1819 (England)

Napoleonic Wars, fake currency floods London.
England issued one-pound bills inscribed on ordinary white paper with a simple pen and ink, resulting in massive forgeries and the arrest of 94,000 people, 7,700 of which are sentenced to death.
Hundreds executed between 1797 and 1817 to protect the Bank of England.
Death by hanging

After the Napoleonic Wars, fake currency swamped the streets of London. The Bank of England’s one-pound notes, crudely handwritten on plain white paper, were easy to forge. Chaos followed: 94,000 people were arrested, and 7,700 faced death. Between 1797 and 1817, hundreds were hanged, a grim measure to protect the bank’s fragile notes.

1819 (America)

Forgery Detection became a science because of Albert S. Osborn.
He published a book “Questioned Document”.
"Forger’s Tremor" and "Conflict of Habits."
A Conflict of Habit refers to inconsistencies or clashes between a writer’s natural writing habits and the writing seen in a questioned document.

Forgery was once an art, but Albert S. Osborn turned it into a science. In his groundbreaking book Questioned Documents, he revealed the secrets of detecting lies on paper. He explained the “Forger’s Tremor” and the “Conflict of Habits,” showing how a writer’s natural hand often betrays them in forged documents.

1823 (America)

FEDERAL FORGERY ACT
The United States enacted the principal federal forgery statute that prohibited false making, forgery or the alteration of any writing for the purpose of obtaining financial gain.
The first major US legislation protecting government documents and "Powers of Attorney" from fraud.

In 1823, the U.S. passed the Federal Forgery Act, making it a crime to falsify or alter any document for money. For the first time, government papers and Powers of Attorney were shielded from trickery, putting law firmly on the side of honesty.

1962 (America)

The American Law Institute’s Model Penal Code simplified and defined the elements of forgery and became the standard for defining the crime of forgery.
Categories: 1st Degree-Money/Securities (Economic threat); 2nd Degree-Deeds/Wills (Property threat), and 3rd Degree- All other writings (Individual threat).

Forgery laws were messy—until the American Law Institute stepped in. Its Model Penal Code clearly defined forgery, making it easier to catch and punish. First-degree forgery threatened money and securities, second-degree targeted deeds and wills, and third-degree covered all other writings. With these categories, the law could finally match the crime.

CASES RELATED TO QDE

The Dreyfus Affair in 1894

A French artillery Captain Alfred Dreyfus, was falsely convicted of treason for allegedly selling military secrets to Germany.
The primary evidence was a torn document (the "bordereau") and a "secret dossier" of forged documents fabricated by military intelligence officers like Major Hubert-Joseph Henry & Ferdinand Walsin-Esterhazy
Handwriting "experts," notably Alphonse Bertillon, provided dubious analysis, claiming Dreyfus had "auto-forged" his own handwriting. The case was a major political scandal revealing deep antisemitism in French society, which was eventually overturned after the forgery was exposed years later.

Captain Alfred Dreyfus, a loyal French officer, was accused of treason. The case relied on a forged document "the bordereau" and a “secret dossier” of forged documents crafted by military officers like Major Hubert-Joseph Henry and Ferdinand Walsin-Esterhazy.

Alphonse Bertillon appeared as an expert witness, lending authority to the flawed evidence. Despite his innocence, Dreyfus was convicted, trapped in a web of deception that shook France.

Bobby Franks Kidnapping & Murder (1924)

Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb, two wealthy and intelligent university students, committed the "perfect crime" by kidnapping and murdering 14-year-old Bobby Franks.
Chicago, illinios-May 21, 1924 (Kidnapped)
While the case is more famous for the eyeglasses (optometrist) found at the scene that linked back to Leopold, the typewritten note and other documents were part of the evidence that led to their confession.
The typewriting analysis helped connect the note to a machine used by the culprits.

Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb, two wealthy and brilliant university students, kidnapped 14-year-old Bobby Franks on May 21, 1924. They thought they could commit the “perfect crime,” but the evidence—Bobby’s body, a ransom note, and their own careless mistakes—exposed them. The shocking murder stunned Chicago and marked one of the most infamous crimes of the era.

Clifford Irving & Howard Hughes Biography in 1972

Novelist Clifford Irving in 1971 pulled off a big literary scam by claiming he had the rights to Howard Hughes’ official autobiography. He forged letters supposedly from Hughes to trick publishers (McGraw-Hill)
$750,000 contract,
The scheme fell apart when Hughes spoke out in a phone call to say the book was fake, and postal inspectors confirmed Irving’s handwriting was forged.

Clifford Irving seemed to have struck literary gold, claiming he was writing Howard Hughes’ official autobiography. He even forged letters from Hughes to convince McGraw-Hill to give him a $750,000 contract. But the truth came crashing down when Hughes himself phoned to declare the book a fake, and postal inspectors proved Irving’s letters were forged. His audacious fraud ended in public humiliation.

The Mormon Will in 1978

A fake Howard Hughes will (holographic) appeared, leaving a fortune to a gas station owner named Melvin Dummar.
Found in the Headquarters of Mormon Church.
1/16th of Hughes's multi-billion dollar estate (roughly $156 million)
It was proven a forgery because it mimicked the fake handwriting found in Clifford Irving’s 1972 book.

A mysterious holographic will surfaced at the Mormon Church, claiming Howard Hughes left a fortune to gas station owner Melvin Dummar—1/16th of Hughes’s multi-billion-dollar estate, about $156 million. At first, it seemed like a miraculous windfall, but investigators discovered the handwriting mimicked the forgery in Clifford Irving’s infamous 1972 autobiography scam. The will was exposed as a fake, and Dummar’s dreams of sudden wealth vanished.

Adolf Hitler Diaries in 1983

Adolf Hitler was the dictator of Germany from 1933 to 1945 an and leader of Nazy Army.
In 1983, the West German Stern magazine paid 9.3 million Deutsche Marks (roughly $3.7 million) for 60 volumes of journals allegedly written by Adolf Hitler.
Konrad Kujau- forger

In 1983, West Germany’s Stern magazine paid 9.3 million Deutsche Marks for 60 volumes of journals claimed to be Adolf Hitler’s, believing they spanned 1932–1945. The diaries, supposedly authenticated by historians, were later exposed as forgeries by Konrad Kujau.

Forensic tests showed modern paper and ink, historical errors, and inconsistent writing. Kujau, along with reporter Gerd Heidemann, was arrested for fraud, and Stern faced global embarrassment, making the scandal one of the most notorious journalistic hoaxes of the 20th century.

Lindbergh Kidnapping Case in 1935

The "Crime of the Century" where 14 ransom notes were analyzed by experts (including Albert Osborn)
Charles Lindbergh Jr. A 20-month-old baby
14 ransom notes
Bruno Richard Hauptmann

In the “Crime of the Century,” 20-month-old Charles Lindbergh Jr. was kidnapped from his home. Investigators collected 14 ransom notes, which experts including Albert Osborn carefully examined. Their analysis helped trace the crime to Bruno Richard Hauptmann, whose capture brought a tragic case to a shocking conclusion and marked a milestone in forensic document examination.

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