Fraud
David Rosen, our head of litigation, supported by the litigation team, is an accredited and experienced fraud solicitor and has acted for both claimants and defendants in civil fraud trials and for defendants in criminal fraud trials.
Fraud law is a specialist area often requiring in-depth knowledge not only of the law but also the way in which prosecutions approach what are generally very time consuming and costly potential cases, in having the right contacts in terms of experts to forensically examine accounts or other evidence and in understanding how business works (Darlingtons litigation team are also experts in commercial litigation).
This really is an area where having the right lawyer is crucial and can make the difference between being cleared or a spell in prison with all it’s long term consequences.
Fraud Act 2006
This has largely codified the previous law and adds to the most significant and commonly used alleged offence of conspiracy to defraud. The Act created classes of offence as follows:
- Making a false representation
- Dishonestly failing to disclose information
- Abuse of position
It is also a key requirement to prove fraud for a jury to be satisfied that the actions of the defendant were dishonest in intent.
The types of fraud are numerous but some common instances are as follows:
- False Accounting
- Share Fraud (boiler room fraud)
- VAT Fraud, otherwise known as carousel fraud
- Ponzi schemes
- Mortgage Fraud
- Credit Card Fraud
- Counterfeit goods fraud
Whilst no fraud can be justified, in criminal terms, it is commonly an opportunistic crime commonly carried out in desperation by an individual facing considerable financial and emotional turmoil. Whilst mitigation may not save an individual found guilty from a prison sentence, Judges do have discretion on sentencing and will typically take into account:
- Any evidence of mental or physical illness ?
- Did the fraudster stop committing offences only when caught ?
- Has the defendant co-operated with investigations ?
- Has any repayment of monies taken place ?
- Financial pressure that was in any way not the defendant’s fault before he or she committed the fraud
How we can help
Whether you have a business and suspect fraud or are a defendant being sued or arrested for fraud we have the experience and capability to deal with any kind of fraud case. Please get in touch with David Rosen for further assistance.
For other resources about fraud on this site click on the following links:
