trumped-up

[ truhmpt-uhp ]

/ ˈtrʌmptˈʌp /

spuriously devised; fraudulent; fabricated: He was arrested on some trumped-up charge.

Origin of trumped-up

1720–30; special use of trump¹; see -ed²

Three Al Jazeera journalists have been jailed in Egypt on trumped-up charges of collaborating with the Muslim Brotherhood.

Outrage After Egypt Jails Journalists: ‘This Is a Crime Against the Media as a Whole,’ Says Al Jazeera Chief |Lloyd Grove |June 23, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
Sweeping gun control measures, the DREAM Act, and the trumped-up “war on women” immediately come to mind.

2014 New Year’s Resolutions for the D.C. Political Establishment |Ron Christie |January 2, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
Unless you help to make the laws, They'll steal your house with trumped-up clause.

David's Book Club: Up From History |David Frum |February 2, 2013 |DAILY BEAST
With the help of the police and the judiciary, dissidents are unlawfully clapped into jails on trumped-up charges.

General Basbug’s Arrest Underscores Growing Civilian Power in Turkey |Owen Matthews |January 6, 2012 |DAILY BEAST

Spadaro blew the whistle and was fired two years later on trumped-up charges.

Meet Mr. Mining Disaster |Clara Bingham |April 8, 2010 |DAILY BEAST
You have arrested an innocent woman on the trumped-up charge that she was harbouring me.

El Dorado |Baroness Orczy
So he went out of town on some trumped-up engagement, and Eleanor, left to herself, took little pining Bingo for a walk.

The Vehement Flame |Margaret Wade Campbell Deland
How improbable the trumped-up story that Grant could decoy from his home his bitterest enemy, especially at the midnight hour!

Idle Hour Stories |Eugenia Dunlap Potts
Here was Ralegh, coming to report a successful and daring exploit, suddenly obliged to defend himself against a trumped-up charge.

Great Ralegh |Hugh De Selincourt
They've gone to work and given him ninety-five demerits in a week on trumped-up charges.

A Cadet's Honor |Upton Sinclair