Fraud, Forgery and Uttering Flashcards
what type of crime is fraud
- result crime
- bringing about a result by false pretence
what is fraud
V must be persuaded to do something they wouldn’t otherwise have done
what are the three elements of fraud
- False pretence
- Definite practical result
- Causal link between the pretence and the result
what are the factors surrounding false pretence
- can be expressed or implied
- must be proved false
- a practical result/ outcome must result from the pretence
what is an express pretence
written or spoken pretences, such as an false ID at licensed premises
case and facts for express pretence
- Strathern v Fogal
- False declarations regarding council tax rates
- Common law offence of fraud
case and facts for pretence can be for something that didn’t happen
- HMA v McAllister 1996
- A pretended that he had carried out work to a value of £2000 - the work was only worth £80
- Fraud
case and facts of misrepresentation relating to future intention
- Richards v HMA
- A mispresented facts to a prospective buyer
- There was an initial intention to commit fraud about a future event was sufficient
- A statement of present intention as to future conduct was grounds for a charge of fraud
what does it mean by an implied pretence
- There is no need for either spoken or a written word to satisfy ‘false pretence’
- ‘creating’ a misrepresentation can be false pretence
case and facts for implied pretence
- The ‘Cow competition’ Case James Paton 1858
- A fixed false horns on a bull to make them appear bigger - Fraud
what is the mens rea for fraud
A must know that what they say, writes, or implies, is false
case for carelessness doesn’t satisfy intent
Mackenzie v Skeen 1971
case facts for Laird v HMA
- The fraudulent scheme was initiated in Scotland
- Various activities material to it were carried out there and the steel was finally delivered there
what is the definition of forgery and uttering
deliberate exposure of a forged document to another person, as if it were genuine, where the person exposing the forged document knows it’s forged and intends that the recipient should be deceived by it
what type of crime is forgery
- not a result crime
- Crime is communication with the intent to deceive, so there doesn’t need to be a practical result
case for forging a signature
Daniel Taylor
actus reus of forgery
- Forgery itself isn’t a crime
- Document has to be uttered as genuine
- AR is complete when the document passes beyond the control of the forger
what is uttering
‘Intention to deceive by presenting as genuine - can be at a specific person, or not’
case for false signature on certificates
Macdonald v Tudhope 1984
what does it mean by deliberate communication
Crime is complete when the writing is dishonestly used towards the prejudice of some person, but it’s not necessary that any person should actually have been injured, or any definite practical result should have been attained by the use
what is the mens rea for forgery
A must know the document is forged and must be an intention to deceive another person
case facts of John Smith
- A forged a signature on a cheque and posted it to W, asking W to cash it for him
- W didn’t cash the cheque
- A had sent it with intention to deceive
case facts of William Jeffrey
- Letter with a forged signature was posted in Edinburgh to London
- Crime of forgery and uttering was completed by the irrevocable act of putting documents into post office of Edinburgh
