Lawyer forged court documents, convicted and expelled from the legal profession.
Compiled from: Shandong Business Daily, Jufaw.com
In daily life, conflicts and disputes are everywhere. With the general improvement of people's cultural quality in modern society and the increasing frequency of legal education activities, when many conflicts and disputes escalate to the point where the parties involved cannot resolve them on their own, they often think of using the weapon of law to protect their own interests. And whenever people mention 'litigation,' the first thing that usually comes to mind is hiring a lawyer. Parties are willing to place their trust in lawyers, which is not only a confidence in the lawyers' professional knowledge but also a respect for the profession itself. However, unexpectedly, some lawyers, driven by personal desires, actually deceive the parties involved, and even go so far as to forge court documents, acts that desecrate the authority of the law.
Case review
In October 2017, Chen, the director of a certain law firm, in the case of representing Li in an economic dispute with a certain company, fabricated the fact of the court filing and the collection of preservation fees, deposit fees, and other charges, and after collecting 203,100 yuan from Li, used it to repay personal debts.
In May 2018, Chen, under the pretext of obtaining benefits by purchasing claims, persuaded Zhao to cooperate with him by contributing 600,000 yuan, after which the 600,000 yuan was used to repay personal debts. During this period, in order to deceive Zhao's trust, Chen forged legal documents from the People's Court.
Since 2015, Chen has committed a total of 18 fraud cases, forged 3 documents of state organs, and defrauded nearly 1.5 million yuan.
Relevant legal provisions
"Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China"
1. Article 266: Crime of Fraud
Whoever defrauds public or private property, if the amount is relatively large, shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than three years, criminal detention, or public surveillance, and shall also, or shall only, be fined; if the amount is huge or there are other serious circumstances, shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than three years but not more than ten years, and shall also be fined; if the amount is especially huge or there are other especially serious circumstances, shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than ten years or life imprisonment, and shall also be fined or have property confiscated. Where this Law otherwise provides, such provisions shall prevail.
2. Article 280
Crime of forging, altering, or trafficking official documents, certificates, and seals of state organs
Whoever forges, alters, buys, sells, or steals, snatches, or destroys official documents, certificates, or seals of state organs shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than three years, criminal detention, control, or deprivation of political rights, and shall also be fined; if the circumstances are serious, they shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than three years but not more than ten years and shall also be fined.
Law of the People's Republic of China on Lawyers
Article 49
If a lawyer engages in any of the following behaviors, the judicial administrative department of the municipal or district government at the city level shall impose a penalty of suspension from practice for more than six months but less than one year, and may also impose a fine of up to 50,000 yuan; any illegal gains shall be confiscated; in serious cases, the judicial administrative department of the people's government of the province, autonomous region, or municipality directly under the central government shall revoke the lawyer's practice certificate; if a crime is constituted, criminal liability shall be pursued according to law.
(1) Meeting with judges, prosecutors, arbitrators, or other relevant personnel in violation of regulations, or influencing the handling of cases in other improper ways;
(2) Bribing judges, prosecutors, arbitrators, and other relevant personnel, introducing bribes, or instructing or inducing parties to offer bribes;
(3) Providing false materials to the judicial administrative department or engaging in other fraudulent activities;
(4) Intentionally providing false evidence, or threatening or inducing others to provide false evidence, thereby obstructing the party's legal acquisition of evidence;
(5) Accepting the other party's property or other benefits, colluding maliciously with the other party or a third party, and infringing on the client's rights and interests;
(6) Disrupting the order of the court or arbitration tribunal, and interfering with the normal conduct of litigation or arbitration activities;
(7) Inciting or instigating the parties to use illegal means such as disturbing public order or endangering public safety to resolve disputes;
(8) Making statements that endanger national security, maliciously defame others, or seriously disrupt court order;
(9) Leaking state secrets. If a lawyer is criminally punished for intentional crimes, the judicial administrative department of the people's government of the province, autonomous region, or municipality directly under the central government shall revoke their lawyer practicing certificate.
[1] Court Opinion
The court, after trial, held that the defendant Chen, with the purpose of illegal possession, fabricated facts, concealed the truth, and repeatedly defrauded others, involving an especially large amount. His acts constitute the crime of fraud; Chen forged legal documents of the People's Court, and his acts constitute the crime of forging documents of state organs. Chen committed fraud multiple times and may be given a heavier punishment accordingly. After being summoned to court, Chen truthfully confessed to his criminal acts, which constitutes surrender, and he may receive a lighter punishment. According to Articles 266, 280, 52, 64, 67(1), and 69 of the Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China, the court sentences the defendant Chen to twelve years and six months of fixed-term imprisonment for the crime of fraud, and imposes a fine of 200,000 yuan; for the crime of forging documents of state organs, he is sentenced to one year and four months of fixed-term imprisonment, and a fine of 10,000 yuan; for the combined offenses, the total sentence is thirteen years of fixed-term imprisonment and a fine of 210,000 yuan.
[1] The author's perspective
As can be seen from the above cases, the act of a lawyer forging court documents is often not only the crime of forging official documents of a state organ, but may even constitute other crimes such as fraud. If the number of fraudulent acts is considerable and the amount involved is large, the lawyer will face not only the simple revocation of their practicing certificate but also criminal penalties including fixed-term imprisonment and fines.
In practice, many clients hire lawyers to represent their cases precisely because of their trust in the lawyers. Perhaps the clients themselves lack legal knowledge and therefore hope that professional lawyers can handle the matter on their behalf; or perhaps the clients are busy with work or unable to appear in person, so they entrust an agent to participate in the litigation. This not only saves them trouble but also can enhance their level of litigation. At the same time, it is also because the agent does not have direct contact with court staff, and may not understand specific litigation procedures, document requirements, and other details of the litigation, that it is easy to blindly trust the agent.
In response to the above phenomenon, I would like to remind all parties involved to take responsibility for themselves. Nowadays, courts also have online platforms, and parties can log in to the court platform using their ID cards to make inquiries. At the same time, it is also necessary to actively participate in the litigation process. If any doubts are found, they can be verified by calling the court's hotline or logging in to the court platform, in order to effectively safeguard their litigation rights.
I understand that there are all kinds of people in the world, and every field has both good and bad individuals. But as legal professionals, lawyers are supposed to uphold social order and protect the interests of their clients. Someone with professional knowledge should bear greater responsibility for the work of the rule of law, rather than using their status to knowingly break the law. For many desperate victims with nowhere to turn, a lawyer may be their only hope. We are not afraid of merciless and violent criminals; what we fear is that this one glimmer of hope is swallowed by darkness.
Wield the sharp sword of law, hold the scales of justice; eliminate evil in the human world, and safeguard the sanctity of politics and law.
