The Fraud Act 2006 (‘the Act’) created a general offence of fraud and set out three ways of committing it including fraud by false representation, fraud by failing to disclose information and fraud by abuse of position.
The Act also made provision for several new and distinct offences including possessing articles for use in fraud, making and supplying articles for use in fraud, participation by a sole trader in a fraudulent business and obtaining Services dishonestly.
The Act is supplemented by the common law offence of conspiracy to commit fraud.
The Crime Survey for England and Wales estimate that, for the year ending March 2024, there were some 3.2 million fraud incidents experienced, with some 2.4 million incidents involving loss of money or property.
The maximum punishment for a person who is guilty of fraud is a term of imprisonment of 10 years.
The key to defending fraud allegations is early and ongoing expert intervention. In practical terms, this invariably involves deploying a multi-disciplinary team of litigators and consultants including specialist barristers, forensic accountants and industry experts.
Criminal fraud is a criminal offence prosecuted in the criminal courts and subject to criminal sentencing powers, including the criminal confiscation regime.
Civil ‘fraud’, a term of art, is a private action pleaded in the civil courts in which a claimant victim will seek one of several forms of relief, including recovery of money, assets, compensation or damages.
Allegations of criminal fraud frequently give rise to parallel civil claims. In this regard, the provisions of sections 12 and 13 of the Act are particularly noteworthy. Section12 provides for criminal liability for company officers and members in specified circumstances and should be carefully noted by directors, managers, secretaries and other similar office holders, as well as by any members engaged in a management role. Section 13 preserves privilege against self-incrimination for the purpose of offences under the Act and related offences, while obliging cooperation with certain civil proceedings relating to property.
We can deploy a multi-disciplinary team of expert criminal and civil litigators to devise and execute bespoke litigation strategies.
We benefit from a wealth of in-house expertise in several disciplines including criminal defence, commercial disputes (including allegations of civil ‘fraud’) and regulatory. We also enjoy enduring relationships with leading consultants, including specialist fraud barristers, forensic accountants and industry experts.
If you have been notified of an allegation of fraud or an impending investigation or prosecution into allegations of fraud, whether criminal or civil in nature, it is critical that you contact us as soon as possible.
