Fraud is essentially a crime of dishonesty, aggravated by the essential ingredient of deception, causing the victim of the fraud to act in a way that they would not have done otherwise. The act taken by the duped victim is called the practical result, which necessarily arises from the deception. The perpetrator does not require to have benefited for the crime to be complete.
Fraudulent acts usually involve a pretence. Some typical examples that we have successfully defended are:
Failing to pay for hiring a service, such as a taxi fare, when there was no intention to pay. In this case the pretence is simply ordering the taxi because by doing so it is inferred that the fare will be paid.
Ordering food in a restaurant and not paying for the bill, where there was no intention to do so.
Similarly, the ordering of the food (with no intention to pay) amounts to the pretence that payment will be made. Clearly if someone orders food and only realises when it comes to making payment that they have forgotten their wallet there is no crime.
Completing application forms for finance, such as credit cards or personal loans by deliberately misrepresenting one's poor financial standing, thereby inducing a lender to provide the finance, in circumstances where they otherwise would not have done so. Again, the key ingredient is the deliberate pretence. If for example there is a genuine error made in completing the application form, then no crime is committed.
In many such cases there are evidential issues for the Prosecution in proving the intention of the accused. Each case requires to be looked at individually, as the facts and circumstances can vary substantially.
We are happy to provide confidential, no-obligation advice to you now. One of our solicitors can give you invaluable and potentially pivotal advice from the start. The sooner you contact us the better.
Do not delay, time is vital in order for us to properly examine the evidence against you, contact potential witnesses, ensure timelines are consistent with the evidence and investigate many other aspects in order to create your strongest legal defence.
Call our national helpline 0800 567 7810 now or our local numbers. Alternatively, complete a contact form or request a call back.
OR
if you have been charged with fraud, please do not delay in contacting expert fraud defence solicitors such as Criminal Defence Solutions who will devise the best strategy to obtain a successful outcome for you.