Virginia § 18.2-186 - False statements to obtain property or credit

§ 18.2-186. False statements to obtain property or credit

A. A person shall be guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor if he makes, causes to be made or conspires to make directly, indirectly or through an agency, any materially false statement in writing, knowing it to be false and intending that it be relied upon, concerning the financial condition or means or ability to pay of himself, or of any other person for whom he is acting, or any firm or corporation in which he is interested or for which he is acting, for the purpose of procuring, for his own benefit or for the benefit of such person, firm or corporation, the delivery of personal property, the payment of cash, the making of a loan or credit, the extension of a credit, the discount of an account receivable, or the making, acceptance, discount, sale or endorsement of a bill of exchange or promissory note.

B. Any person who knows that a false statement has been made in writing concerning the financial condition or ability to pay of himself or of any person for whom he is acting, or any firm or corporation in which he is interested or for which he is acting and who, with intent to defraud, procures, upon the faith thereof, for his own benefit, or for the benefit of the person, firm or corporation in which he is interested or for which he is acting, any such delivery, payment, loan, credit, extension, discount making, acceptance, sale or endorsement, shall, if the value of the thing or the amount of the loan, credit or benefit obtained is $1,000 or more, be guilty of grand larceny or, if the value is less than $1,000, be guilty of petit larceny.

C. Venue for the trial of any person charged with an offense under this section may be in the county or city in which (i) any act was performed in furtherance of the offense, or (ii) the person charged with the offense resided at the time of the offense.

D. As used in this section, "in writing" shall include information transmitted by computer, facsimile, e-mail, Internet, or any other electronic medium, and shall not include information transmitted by any such medium by voice transmission.

Code 1950, § 18.1-119; 1960, c. 358; 1966, c. 247; 1975, cc. 14, 15; 1981, c. 197; 1991, c. 546; 2006, c. 321; 2007, c. 518; 2018, cc. 764, 765; 2020, cc. 89, 401.