How did the U. S.A became a state

The first 13 became states in July 1776 when they agreed to the United States Declaration of Independence. Each of those 13 agreed to the first U.S. constitution, called the Articles of Confederation, which formed the first Union of states between 1777 and 1781.

Explanation:

the punishment for breaking the law would depend on the conditions or the seriousness of the law being broken, if he or she breaks the law while doing some great discovery or invention then it would classify as a scientific fraud. there are other words to describe the crime but scientific fraud would be the harshest one.