Dec. 09 blog 2–Fraud Law

In its most general sense, fraud is defined by the law as an intentional falsification of a concrete existing fact that one person makes to another while aware of the fact that one is both deliberately misrepresenting the truth and intended to encourage the other person to act so that they suffer loss or damage that directly benefits the individual committing the act of fraud. Fraud may also be at work in a deliberate omission or failure to state important information which would substantively affect the ability of an individual to adequately understand the statements that have been disclosed.

This sort of omission or misrepresentation must concern “existing fact” and not unfulfilled promises of future action, unless it can be proven that the individual in question made the promise without any intention to fully perform it or with the outright intention not to carry through on it. A promise of future action or a simple articulation of personal or professional opinion cannot be considered an adequate basis a fraud claim except in the case in which the individual expressing that opinion has a special or enhanced understanding of existing facts which are out of the ordinary for that sort of opinion. A false statement or elision must be determined to be material, which is to say that the resulting deception had considerable impact on the decision to be made. .

There are a number of laws, both state and federal, that are intended to regulate fraud in several areas. Some of the most heavily litigated fields include insurance fraud, corporate fraud, and consumer fraud. Mueller Hillin specializes in Oil and Gas Law in Philadelphia, Atlanta, Houston and Austin.