Ideological falsehood is a fraud crime which consists of the tampering with documents in order to gain an advantage own or to harm/benefit third parties.
According to the Brazilian Penal Code, the crime of misrepresentation is typified through the article 299, with the following wording:
Art. 299 - Omit, in a public or private document, a statement that should be included therein, or insert or cause a false statement or different from what should be written, in order to harm the law, create an obligation or change the truth about a fact legally relevant.
The penalty provided for whoever is convicted of this crime varies between 1 (one) and 5 (five) years of imprisonment, if the tampering is with public documents; and 1 (one) to 3 (three) years of imprisonment, when the fraud involves private documents. In both situations, the payment of a fine is also added.
Ideological falsity occurs when information is tampered with in public or private documents that are true, that is, copies do not fit in this case.
One example of ideological falsehood it is claiming to be enrolled in an educational institution, for example, to obtain advantages in establishments that give discounts or benefits to students.
Ideological falsehood and false identity
Many people confuse these two crimes, but both are typified by different articles in the Penal Code.
The ideological falsehood (art. 299 of the CP), as said, is configured when someone adds or removes information that should not be tampered with public or private documents, in order to obtain one's own advantage or that of others, or to harm the 3rd.
the crime of false identity is provided for in article 307 of the Criminal Code.
Art. 307 - Attributing oneself or attributing a false identity to a third party in order to obtain an advantage, for one's own or others' benefit, or to cause harm to others.
In this case, according to the law, the penalty can vary between 3 (three) months to 1 (one) year of detention, if there is no application of aggravating factors.
In short, the crime of false identity is characterized when someone impersonates someone else, thus assuming their identity, either to gain or harm someone else.