False advertising · as in force on May 31, 2026
§ 190.20 False advertising.
A person is guilty of false advertising when, with intent to promote the sale or to increase the consumption of property or services, he makes or causes to be made a false or misleading statement in any advertisement or publishes any advertisement in violation of chapter three of the act of congress entitled "Truth in Lending Act" and the regulations thereunder, as such act and regulations may from time to time be amended, addressed to the public or to a substantial number of persons; except that, in any prosecution under this section, it is an affirmative defense that the allegedly false or misleading statement was not knowingly or recklessly made or caused to be made.
False advertising is a class A misdemeanor.
With intent to promote the sale or increase the consumption of property or services, a person commits false advertising by making or causing a false or misleading statement in any advertisement, or publishing an advertisement that violates the federal Truth in Lending Act or its regulations, where the advertisement is addressed to the public or a substantial number of persons. ★ It is an affirmative defense that the statement was not knowingly or recklessly made or caused. The offense is a class A misdemeanor.
Marked in the text: penalties, time limits, sums of money. Editorial emphasis added by this edition; it does not appear in the statute as enacted.
This provision appears in Volume 4 — The Court Clerk: Penal Law; Volume 1 — The Court Officer in Plain English; Volume 3 — The Court Officer: Penal Law; Volume 3 — Your Career: Penal Law in Plain English.