The Duty of a Fraud Defense Lawyer

By Abraham Avotina

Individuals, which are accused of criminal or civil fraudulent conduct, face unique challenges in succeeding in their case. One step is to hire a competent fraud defense lawyer who can analyze the evidence and file the proper petitions to get your case dismissed. The offense is defined as an intentional deception that is made for the goal of personal gain or to inflict damage to another individual. This offense is both a crime and a civil law claim under many state and federal laws. There are many varying definitions by legal jurisdictions. Generally, these concepts share some elements in common including the idea of there being the specific purpose of taking away money or valuables from people or entities. An attorney will have to fully comprehend the specific requirements necessary for proof of the offense.

Under common law, there are nine essential elements that constitute intentional deception claims. First, there must be a representation of an existing fact. The representation refers to what the alleged offender told or held out to be true to the victim. The second element is that this representation has to be material. Material means that the fact is essential to the underlying transaction or is highly important to the concerned party. Third, the representation has to be false. This element is self-explanatory. There may be a grey area where the representation is a half-truth. Fourth, the speaker of the fact has to know that the representation is in fact false. Generally, courts may require actual knowledge or constructive knowledge. Constructive knowledge is the idea that the speaker should have known because a reasonable person in the speaker's shoes should have known. Fifth, the speaker must intend that the victim will act upon the representation. The sixth element is that the victim ignored the falsity. This element is obvious because if the victim didn't ignore the falsity, then he or she would not be damaged by the misrepresentation. Seventh, the victim must have relied on the truth of the representation. Finally, the victim must have relied on the representation and suffered damages through the reliance.

A fraud defense lawyer can benefit greatly from closely analyzing the facts that relate to each of the nine elements. This requires the attorney to make a deep assessment and clear presentation of the different elements. Usually all of the factors must be proven in order for a defendant to be found guilty. Generally, if the fraud defense lawyer can cast doubt upon just one or two of these elements, then the entire case may not stand, depending on the jurisdiction.

A fraud defense lawyer can represent you if you are facing charges. Click here for more information: http://josephkscott.com.

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