Missouri Enacts Prohibition on Filing False Documents

Effective August 28, 2018, Missouri enacted new provisions making it a felony offense to file a false document (such as a lien on a property) with the intent to defraud, deceive, harass, alarm, or negatively impact a person financially.

Under Missouri House Bill 1769, the new offense generally applies to real property-related documents—including recordings, contracts, deeds, financing statements, and legal summons—that are filed or recorded with state or local governmental agencies or any credit bureau or financial institution.  To be subject to the new provisions, the document must meet one of the following conditions: contain materially false information; be fraudulent; be a forgery; lack the consent of all parties listed in a document that requires mutual consent; or be invalid under Missouri law.  The offense for filing false documents is a felony and any person who pleads guilty or is found guilty is also required to make full restitution to any person or entity that has sustained actual losses or costs as a result of the illegal conduct.

The bill can be found here.