Civil fraud

Why you need to know about civil (commercial) fraud

With the increasing sophistication of fraudsters, including via the use of artificial intelligence, the importance of understanding what is or may be involved in a civil fraud dispute has never been more important.

What is fraud?

Fraud can best be described as the deliberate or intentional use of misrepresentation, deception or dishonesty to deprive, in order to make a gain or achieve an advantage for someone or something or to disadvantage or cause loss (usually financial) to another person or party. That said, it is not always necessary that a scenario which has, at its heart, elements of dishonesty, requires establishing actual dishonesty on the part of some or all of the protagonists in order to seek a civil remedy.

Fraud is defined differently depending on whether you are acting in a civil or criminal context, and even within civil and criminal law, the definition changes depending on the type of claim or offence being pursued.

Fraud in a criminal context is a criminal offence capable of being prosecuted in the criminal courts and resulting,