How often do you make statements without verifying that they are 100 percent correct? If you are like most people, you might do this often. But, did you realize that there are times when making a false statement can land you in legal hot water? Fraud charges are based on people who have made untruthful statements.
There are different types of fraud that can occur. You have to look at the circumstances of the incident to determine what type of fraud case might be forthcoming if you haven’t already been charged. This is what the prosecution will do when they are trying to build a case against you.
The type of document on which the misstatements were made can affect the fraud that occurred. For example, if you make false statements on a mortgage application, you committed mortgage fraud, but you would commit insurance fraud if you lied on an insurance application.
Most fraud charges are felonies, so you are facing a very serious criminal matter in these cases. You should make sure that you understand what penalties you are facing in connection with the case. These vary depending on the venue in which your case is being heard. Federal penalties are different from state penalties, so be sure you understand these differences.
As you work on creating your defense, you should look into each point that the prosecution might bring up. This gives you an opportunity to see if there are any aspects that aren’t fully factual. You may want to address these discrepancies yourself rather than letting the prosecution introduce them to the jury. You might find this a very involved process since there is often a long paper trail with these cases.
Source: FindLaw, “Fraud,” accessed June 08, 2018
