Episode 29 - Forgery and Fraud: Crime in the Roman Marketplace

While we often focus on violent crime, the Roman world was also rife with the kinds of white-collar offenses that are still familiar today. Forgery, fraud, and false accounting were common in the bustling marketplaces and boardrooms of the empire. To combat this, the Roman Republic passed the Lex Cornelia de Falsis, a comprehensive law that became the foundation of Roman criminal law on forgery.

This episode delves into the world of Roman financial crime. We explore the specifics of the Lex Cornelia, which punished everything from forging a last will and testament to counterfeiting coins and making false statements in court. The punishments were severe, ranging from exile for the upper classes to execution for the lower classes. We examine real cases of inheritance fraud and business scams that reveal the complexities of Roman commercial life.

The Roman economy depended on a high degree of trust, particularly in written documents like contracts, wills, and public records. The laws against forgery were therefore essential for maintaining social and economic stability. This exploration of white-collar crime reveals a surprisingly modern side of the Roman legal system and its struggle to regulate a complex economy.