What is the offence of fraud?

Criminal Defence Solicitors
January 30, 2013

One of the most common offences that you read about in the newspapers is that of fraud (see below for a list of recent examples). So, what is fraud? If you’ve been arrested on suspicion of fraud, charged with fraud, are being prosecuted for a fraud-related offence then you’ll want to know what this offence is and what will need to be proven to successfully prosecute you. Equally, you may just be curious as to what the offence of fraud is. We’ll therefore explore this in this post by examining the following:

What is fraud?
What types of fraud are there?
What kind of sentence can be expected if you’re convicted of fraud?
What should you do if you’ve been charged with a fraud-related offence?

What is fraud?

The Fraud Act 2006 came into force on 15 January 2007 and applies in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Wikipedia defines fraud as “an intentional deception made for personal gain or to damage another individual”. Fraud is both a crime and unlawful under civil law. In order for an action to be fraud it must therefore be intentional (and not just reckless or negligent).

What types of fraud are there?

Under the Fraud Act 2006 there are three main types of fraud that a person can be charged with:

Fraud by false representation (s. 2 Fraud Act 2006)
Fraud by failing to disclose information (s. 3 Fraud Act 2006)
Fraud by abuse of position (s.4 Fraud Act 2006)

The nature of each type of this offence differs significantly and you should therefore carefully identify what you have / may be charged with.

What kind of sentence can be expected if you’re convicted of fraud?

The sentence that can be expected for a conviction of fraud depends upon the type of fraud that has been perpetrated, the nature of the fraudulent act(s) and whether there are any additional aggravating and/or mitigating factors involved. For example, the maximum sentence for Confidence Fraud of the most serious nature is a maximum of 8 years incarceration whereas the maximum sentence for Benefit Fraud of the most serious nature is 7 years incarceration. The sentence that you’ll receive if you’re convicted of fraud therefore depends on a vast range of factors and is difficult to calculate in advance.