Fraud

The civil and criminal wrong of intentional deception for gain

Overview

Civil fraud requires a false representation made knowingly or recklessly, intended to be relied on, actually relied on, and causing loss, with dishonesty the dividing line from negligence. Criminal variants range from common law cheat statutes to securities, wire, and mail fraud, and the famous Rule 10b-5 built American insider trading law on this footing. Damages include punitive awards, and reliance can be presumed where concealment prevented discovery. It is the chameleon wrong, appearing in every area of law. English law once required proof of the exact false statement, a rule modern cases have relaxed.