Fraud investigations are often lengthy, document-heavy, and conducted by agencies with considerable resources, and a person who learns that they are under suspicion may wait many months before discovering whether a charge will follow.
Instructing a fraud solicitor at an early stage, rather than when a court date arrives, gives the defence the opportunity to influence the direction of the inquiry, to protect the client’s position in interview, and to prepare for the financial consequences which so often accompany a fraud prosecution.
Johnson Astills defends individuals and businesses across Leicestershire against allegations brought by the police and the Crown Prosecution Service, HM Revenue and Customs, the Department for Work and Pensions, local authorities, Trading Standards, and other prosecuting bodies.
Please call us free now on 0800 059 0600 or complete a Free Online Enquiry and a member of the team will get back to you soon.
”I am perfectly satisfied with the way the case was handled. My solicitor was very efficient, easy to communicate with and was very clear on what the outcome would or could be and who worked well.”
What Does The Law Treat As Fraud?
The main offence is set out in the Fraud Act 2006, and none of the three ways of committing it is made out by the conduct alone. In every case, the prosecution must also prove that the person acted dishonestly and intended to make a gain for themselves or another, or to cause someone else a loss or expose them to the risk of one.
The three types of fraud under the Act are:
- Fraud by false representation, where a person dishonestly makes a representation which they know is, or might be, untrue or misleading, intending to make a gain or cause a loss by doing so. An untrue statement made in the honest belief that it was accurate is not fraud.
- Fraud by failing to disclose information, where a person dishonestly fails to disclose information which they are under a legal duty to disclose, intending to make a gain or cause a loss. The duty must be a legal one, arising under a statute, a contract or a relationship of trust, rather than a moral one.
- Fraud by abuse of position, where a person who occupies a position in which they are expected to safeguard, or not to act against, the financial interests of another, such as an employee, a carer or someone holding a power of attorney, dishonestly abuses that position intending to make a gain or cause a loss.
The prosecution does not have to prove that any gain or loss actually resulted from the conduct, although the outcome will be central to the sentence and to any order to repay money. Fraud carries a maximum sentence of ten years’ imprisonment, and related charges such as conspiracy to defraud, money laundering, and tax evasion are often brought alongside it.
What Does Dishonesty Mean?
Dishonesty is at the heart of almost every fraud prosecution. It is judged by combining the defendant’s own understanding of the facts with the standards of ordinary people, rather than by the defendant’s personal view of whether their conduct was acceptable.
The court begins by considering what the defendant actually knew or believed about the situation. A person who believed that what they said was true, or that they were entitled to act as they did, has a complete answer to the charge.
The court then considers whether, given that knowledge or belief, the person’s conduct was dishonest by the standards of ordinary decent people.
What Are The Penalties For Fraud?
The penalties for fraud depend on a variety of factors, including the defendant’s role, the degree of planning involved, how long the offending went on for, and the amount of money lost or put at risk. They range from a fine or community order for the least serious cases to long prison sentences where the sums are large and the defendant played a leading part.
The financial consequences of a conviction can sometimes be more far-reaching than the sentence itself. The Crown Court can make a confiscation order requiring a convicted defendant to pay back the benefit they obtained from their offending, and in some cases the court is entitled to assume that assets acquired in the years before the proceedings were the proceeds of crime unless the defendant can show otherwise. The prosecution can also apply to freeze a suspect’s assets at an early stage of an investigation, long before any charge is brought.
How Johnson Astills Can Help
Many fraud cases begin with an invitation to attend a voluntary interview under caution rather than with an arrest, and the invitation should be treated with the same seriousness as an arrest. Everyone interviewed under caution is entitled to independent legal advice at the police station, and the account given in interview, or the decision to say nothing, will be examined closely in the event that the case goes to trial.
Our fraud solicitors attend interviews conducted by the police, HMRC, the DWP and other agencies, make written representations against charge where the evidence is weak, and build the defence case through disclosure requests, forensic accountancy, and detailed analysis of the financial records on which the prosecution relies.
Please call us free now on 0800 059 0600 or complete a Free Online Enquiry and a member of the team will get back to you soon.
“I cannot fault my experience with Johnson Astills Solicitors. Throughout this difficult time I was made to feel secure, supported and validated – money can’t actually buy these things.”
