Also note, if you put a university on your resume that you never attended or graduated from that university could sue you for fraud if or when they found out about it.
It would be even more severe if this was for a government contractor or agency, as you sign legal documents saying everything listed is truthful. Depending on the job they will actually send an investigator out to everyone and every job you listed and you could get caught up legally before you even start your first day of work.
There is no reason to lie on your resume, would you like for your employer to lie to you in the job application? My advice is to always be truthful on your resume as once you start lying you may find yourself in a job where the lying can only get you so far and you end up in a position above your capabilities and your friends, family and coworkers will find out about it and you would eventually be publicly reprimanded or even blacklisted from your industry.
With that being said, a few comments. In the United States the legalities of this would fall under fraud. The legal basis for the criminality of fraud differs from state to state and depends on how you commit the fraud. It isn't safe to give a blanket statement that lying on a resume is illegal or fraudulent. Additionally, the penalties are based on a number of factors. My opinion, and only my opinion, is that at best an employer would only be able to civilly sue you for the damages of your fraudulent behavior. Additionally, legally, they have a burden to complete due diligence on applicants just as they do with many other things.
This is mostly theoretical as a quick search of Lexus Nexus does not bring up many employment related fraud cases at all. The exception seems to be when credentials are fraudulently represented (for example, a PHD that does not exist). However, I could not find one case that went criminal even in the instance of fraudulent credentials, nor could I find a case that wasn't settled before a trial.
All states have criminal statutes against fraud, and some states, like Washington, have statutes that make using a fake degree a felony. And if you're faking documents as part of your resume lies, you could also be charged with forgery. - > http://blogs.findlaw.com/law_and_life/2015/10/can-you-get-ar...
I knew one of my ex coworkers padded his resume with 5 years of experience he didn't have. Two years later I'm working at Google and I'd blackball him without hesitation.
You might not get thrown in jail, but honest people never forget scummy behavior.
Under the Texas Penal Code, for example, it is illegal to use, or even to just claim to hold, a postsecondary degree you know to be fraudulent, substandard, or fictitious in order to obtain employment. This makes it illegal to either falsely claim you received a degree from an actual, accredited university, or to list a degree from a “diploma mill” (an unaccredited institution that offers “degrees” for a flat fee in a short amount of time with little to no coursework).
Of course, you'd still be fired most likely.