(a) No person shall knowingly make a false statement or knowingly swear or
affirm the truth of a false statement previously made, when any of the following applies:
(1) The statement is made in any official proceeding.
(2) The statement is made with purpose to incriminate another.
(3) The statement is made with purpose to mislead a public official in performing his or her official function.
(4) The statement is made with purpose to secure the payment of workers' compensation, unemployment compensation, aid for the aged, aid for the blind, aid for the permanently and totally disabled, aid to dependent children, general assistance, disability assistance administered by the Ohio Department of Human Services, retirement benefits or other benefits administered by a governmental agency or paid out of a public treasury.
(5) The statement is made with purpose to secure the issuance by a governmental agency of a license, permit, authorization, certificate, registration, release or provider agreement.
(6) The statement is sworn or affirmed before a notary public or other person empowered to administer oaths.
(7) The statement is in writing on or in connection with a report or return which is required or authorized by law.
(8) The statement is in writing and is made with purpose to induce another to extend credit to or employ the offender, or to confer any degree, diploma, certificate of attainment, award of excellence, or honor on the offender, or to extend to or bestow upon the offender any other valuable benefit or distinction, when the person to whom such statement is directed relies upon it to his or her detriment.
(9) The statement is made with purpose to commit or facilitate the commission of a theft offense involving the proceeds of an insurance policy.
(10) The statement is knowingly made to a probate court in connection with any action, proceeding or other matter within its jurisdiction, either orally or in a written document, including, but not limited to, an application, petition, complaint or other pleading, or an inventory, account or report.
(11) The statement is made on an application for a marriage license under Ohio R.C. 3101.05.
(12) The statement is made, either orally or in writing, in connection with an application for legal representation submitted to a court, the State Public Defender, the County Public Defender, or a joint county public defender, by a defendant in a criminal case for the purpose of a determination of indigency and eligibility for legal representation by the State Public Defender, the County Public Defender, a joint county public defender or a court-appointed counsel.
(b) It is no defense to a charge under subsection (a)(4) hereof that the oath or affirmation was administered or taken in an irregular manner.
(c) Where contradictory statements relating to the same fact are made by the offender within the period of the statute of limitations for falsification, it is not necessary for the prosecution to prove which statement was false, but only that one or the other was false.
(d) Whoever violates paragraph (a)(1), (2), (3), (4), (5), (6), (7), (8), (10) or (11) hereof is guilty of falsification, a misdemeanor of the first degree.
(e) Whoever violates paragraph (a)(9) hereof is guilty of falsification of an insurance claim, a misdemeanor of the first degree, provided the amount of the claim is less than one thousand dollars ($1,000) and provided the offender has not previously been convicted of a theft offense and provided the claim is not made for the theft of a motor vehicle. (Ord. 13-12. Passed 3-5-2012.)
(f) Whoever violates paragraph (a)(12) hereof is guilty of falsification, a misdemeanor of the first degree. If, as a result of the false statement that is the basis of the conviction under paragraph (a)(12) hereof, the offender received legal representation to which he or she was not entitled from the State Public Defender, the County Public Defender, a joint county public defender, or court-appointed counsel, the court shall order the offender to make restitution, in an amount equal to the value of the legal representation provided by the State Public Defender, the County Public Defender, a joint county public defender, or court-appointed counsel, to the public entity that paid for the legal representation.
(ORC 2921.13)