Fraud is a serious charge and legal advice should be sought as early as possible. Fraud offences relate to the making of a false or misleading statement and can carry a significant maximum penalty if found guilty.
The most important step; Get Legal Advice!
Such offences as fraud require the assistance of expert criminal lawyers who will apply the Criminal Procedure Act. This is not a task one should take on themselves as it is easy to apply criminal law incorrectly. When in doubt, legal advice is best obtained early so that you can be fully informed about the process every step of the way.
If you are looking for a team of criminal lawyers who will provide flawless service and comprehensive advice, contact Jameson Law regarding any criminal offence matters.
What is a Fraud offence?
Fraud offences relate to a false or misleading statement made by one individual which is designed to deliberately mislead another individual or organisation or obtain property belonging to another. It is a false representation of fact. Fraud is a particularly deceptive offence because it is a betrayal of trust and can have significant repercussions.
Fraud is committed for a number of reasons however the worst offending comes from trying to obtain a financial benefit through a false or misleading statement or statements. This will be discussed more below.
Other types of statements may result in emotional distress, other criminal situations or the acquisition of illegal property. All are classed as a criminal offence.
What Type of Offence Is Fraud?
Fraud is a criminal law offence and is subject to the Crimes Act 1900 specific to your state or territory. The legislation will lay out the factors or criteria which need to be satisfied in order for a guilty verdict to be determined. The relevant sections of the act will indicate if the offence has a minimum or maximum penalty attached.
Depending on the severity of the offence will determine whether the offence will be heard in the local court (district court) or the Supreme court. The difference between these courts being that the local court deals with summary offences and the Supreme court deals with indictable offences.
An indictable offence is determined by judge and jury while a summary offence is determined only by a Magistrate.
What is a Financial Advantage?
If an individual commits an act of fraud as a means of obtaining a financial advantage then this will come through the provision of false financial information. An example of this would be a false document being provided to Centrelink and money being received as a result. This type of act would be a financial disadvantage to the government organisation as they would have provided you money you were not entitled to.
What Sentence Could I Receive if Found Guilty?
If you are found guilty of a fraud offence then you could receive a range of sentences depending on the surrounding circumstances and severity of your actions. The sentencing judge could give you one of the following outcome;
Monetary fine;
Term of Imprisonment;
Community Corrections Order;
Home arrest/detention;
etc.
If you have been found guilty of committing an indictable offence then your sentence will likely be more punitive than if you are found guilty of a summary offence.
Your criminal lawyer should be able to advice which sentence you are likely to receive based on the facts and circumstances of your matter.
What is Reasonable Doubt?
Whenever an offence is brought before the court it is measured against whether the factors of the criminal offence can be proven beyond what would be considered reasonable by an ordinary person.
If you commit fraud offences there is usually a paper trail of where the fraud has been committed. This is either because someone obtains property belonging to another individual and there is a record, accounting records pick up payments or there is some sort of money involved. There may also be false document forgery involved which is identified through the examination of signatures by a third person.
To prove fraud offences beyond a reasonable doubt it must be proven that a reasonable person would consider that the defendant is guilty. Usually this is because an individual is obtaining a financial advantage and subsequently creating a financial disadvantage for another person.
Criminal lawyers spend considerable time appealing to either the Magistrate, Judge or jury on this point by attempting to convince that an ordinary person may have made the same choice in the same situation.
This is one of the core reasons why you must inform your criminal lawyer of any and all circumstances surrounding your matter. You never know what small piece of information could assist.
Identification Documents
Identification documents are often required to commit fraud and this is why it is so important to keep personal and private information safe. An identification document may be any of the following:
Birth certificate;
Driver’s Licence;
Passport;
Medicare Card;
Bank account details;
etc
To protect you from becoming a victim of fraud, many organisations such as banks, Centrelink, etc, have developed systems where you must provide multiple documents or multiple pieces of information for verification of your identity.
If you ever lose any of your documents, it is important to cancel them as soon as possible so that you cannot become a fraud victim. This is especially relevant for passports, driver’s licences and bank cards.
Providing false identification documents is a crime and it carries a maximum penalty which includes a term of imprisonment under the Crimes Act. The greater the deception the less likely a lenient sentence will be possible.
What is an Unacceptable Risk?
Serial fraud offenders may be considered an unacceptable risk to the ordinary person or wider society. An offence of fraud or fraudulent act is a breach of trust and depending on the level of offending creates a danger.
Some people engage in credit card fraud which can scam hundreds if not thousands of people in a short period of time. Other people may engage in money laundering which has society wide effects quickly. Identity offences can create irreparable damage to an individuals credit rating, ability to loan money or ability to live. The consequences can be severe.
More serious fraud charges such as those discussed above can carry maximum penalties of several years imprisonment. In many instances fraud charges within companies or organisations where there has been concealing of accounting records can damage both reputations and multiple individuals financial future.
Why Is Fraud Such A Serious Offence?
Fraud charges at their core are a breach of trust between individuals, organisations and the wider community. Providing a false document or obtaining a financial benefit is a criminal offence of fraud.
Financial advantage includes receipt of property or money that belongs to another individual or organisation. Fraud cases can be extremely tricky to prove if the paper trail is ambiguous, confusing or misleading. The more elaborate and misleading the crime the tougher sentence imposed.
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