Fraud Offences
Fraud offences can range from small scale fraud carried out by an individual to large scale complex fraud organised by multiple people or businesses.
If you have been arrested for, or charged with, any type of fraud, you will need a specialist solicitor with the knowledge and experience to defend you effectively. contact us at your earliest convenience to discuss you requirements.
Types of fraud
There are a variety of different types of fraud, they include:
- Credit card fraud
- Tax fraud / VAT / Carousel fraud / MTIC
- Counterfeit goods / piracy
- Insurance fraud
- Benefit fraud
- Money laundering
- Mortgage fraud
- Conspiracy to defraud
Credit card fraud
Credit card fraud ranges from the single use of a stolen card, up to large scale fraud using multiple cloned cards.
In its most basic form, trying to obtain goods or cash from a cash machine with a stolen card can be charged with fraud.
Other types of credit card fraud include:
- Duplicating cards – using stolen card details to produce counterfeit cards for use in fraudulent transactions.
- Skimming – this can be done either at a cash machine or in a retail premises and involves stealing card details by using false PIN entry devices.
- Cardholder not present transactions – using stolen card details to process fraudulent transactions in the absence of the cardholder.
If you have been charged with any type of credit card fraud, contact us for advice.
Tax fraud / VAT / Carousel fraud / MTIC
VAT fraud at its most basic involves someone paying too little of the VAT they have collected, or reclaimed too much from the Treasury.
Carousel fraud is a complex form of fraud whereby goods and VAT are passed around between companies and different legal jurisdictions, similar to a carousel.
MTIC (Missing trader intra-community fraud) is a complex method of stealing the VAT charged on goods. By exploiting the way in which VAT is handled in different countries the offender is able to charge VAT on the goods and abscond with the funds before paying them to the relevant Government.
Investigations for tax fraud can be very long and difficult for a business to deal with whilst they are still trading. You will require a solicitor with experience of this type of prosecution to assist you. If you have been charged with any type of Tax fraud, contact us for advice.
Counterfeit goods / piracy
Piracy and counterfeiting are common these days. From CD’s, DVD’s and designer goods, all the way to car parts and industrial parts.
It is illegal to produce counterfeit goods as it is a breach of intellectual property rights. Likewise, sale or distribution of counterfeit goods is also illegal and can result in charges being brought.
If you have been arrested for any crime relating to piracy or counterfeiting, contact us for a consultation.
Insurance fraud
Insurance fraud is any act committed with the intent to fraudulently obtain payment from an insurer. This could be the deliberate causing of a claimable insurance event, such as a fire, after which a claim is made on an insurance policy.
Another examples could be exaggerating an insurance claim, for example by topping up a genuine home insurance claim, for instance by claiming for additional goods that never existed.
If you have been charged with any type of Insurance fraud, contact us for advice.
Money laundering
Money laundering is simply the process of concealing the source of illegally obtained money. The methods used to launder money are varied and can range in sophistication.
Money laundering can result in sentences of up to 14 years imprisonment. Money laundering prosecutions have increased dramatically since the introduction of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (POCA) and there is now a statutory duty on professionals and institutions to report activity that they know, suspect or ought reasonably to suspect is money laundering.
If you have been charged with money laundering, or face a prosecution under the Proceeds of Crime Act, contact us for advice.
Mortgage fraud
Mortgage fraud is where someone intentionally misrepresents the facts in order to obtain a mortgage, or a larger mortgage, than the true facts would allow.
Cases usually revolve around misleading information being given on a mortgage application about such things as the borrower’s earnings or employment status, financial commitments such as debts, the value of the property or the purpose of the loan.
Other types of mortgage fraud can include borrowing money secured on a property to which the borrower is not the owner, or does not have the right to borrow funds against.
If you have been charged with mortgage fraud, contact us for advice.
Conspiracy to defraud
A conspiracy is an agreement between two or more persons to commit an unlawful act, or to commit a lawful act by unlawful means; the former applies to conspiracy to defraud.
Importantly, the offence does not have to be carried out for the conspiracy to take place, however the defendants must have known they were acting dishonestly otherwise there can be no fraud.
If you have been charged with conspiracy to defraud, contact us for advice.
