Jan. 15 Blog Mueller Hillin

Generally speaking, the legal definition of fraud is any sort of intentional misrepresentation of a material fact that a person makes to another while being aware of the fact that one is intentionally engaging in subterfuge that is meant to induce the other person to take action that will result loss or damage that directly benefits the person who is perpetrating the act of fraud. Fraud can also designate willfully neglecting to state important data which would concretely affect an individual’s ability to properly comprehend the statements in question.

To be considered a fraudulent act, the dissimulation in question has to have something to do with “existing fact” and not simply unkept promises for the future, unless one can prove that the person accused of fraud promised to do something without ever intending to living up to the promise. A commitment to carry out future action or merely stating one’s personal or professional opinion does not hold up as an adequate legal basis for a claim of fraud unless it can be shown that the party stating that opinion possesses a special knowledge of existing details that are not commonly known amongst like-minded people. A falsehood or omission of information has to be “material,” meaning that the false pretext had a noticeable effect on the claimant’s decision making process.

There are many laws, both state and federal, that are designed to cover fraud in a number of areas. Some of the most common areas of practice include consumer fraud, corporate fraud, and insurance fraud. Mueller Hillin specializes in Fraud Law in Philadelphia, Atlanta, Houston and Austin.