Lawyers in fraud cases

The definition of fraud is given in Part 1 of Article 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. According to this rule, it represents the theft of someone else's property or the acquisition of the right to it through deception or abuse of the victim's trust.

Unlike robbery, there is no use of violence. The difference from theft and robbery is that when committing a crime, an attacker forces him to transfer property by manipulative methods, and does not take possession of it covertly or openly. Another important point – fraud may involve the acquisition of rights and is not limited to the theft of things.

Types of fraud

The current legislation of the Russian Federation identifies several types of fraud, responsibility for which is provided for in Articles 159-159.6 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation

Simple. Implies embezzlement from citizens, organizations.

In the field of lending. Embezzlement of money by providing deliberately false or unreliable data to a lender (for example, a bank, an MFI).

In the field of payments. Embezzlement of money or other property from the state by providing false data when applying for benefits (or omission of facts that entail termination of payments).

Using electronic means of payment. Theft of money from bank cards, electronic wallets.

Each of the listed crimes has a qualified form, for which a more severe punishment is provided. Aggravating circumstances may include:

commission of illegal actions by a group of persons;

causing significant damage (determined individually, taking into account property status);

committing a crime using official position;

theft on a particularly large scale (from 1,000,000 ₽).

Ordinary fraud is punishable by up to 2 years in prison. Other types of punishments are also provided: correctional labor, arrest. For other types of fraud, the penalties differ more or less. However, real imprisonment is provided for almost all of them.

Features of protection in the fraud case

In the framework of a criminal case of fraud, it is impossible to do without professional protection. This applies to both the suspect and the victim.

Suspect protection

Law enforcement agencies have developed a law enforcement practice now, according to which the provisions of Article 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (and related norms) are interpreted very broadly. Officials of the Ministry of Internal Affairs or the IC may see fraud in actions in which it is de facto absent. The reason for this state of affairs is the specifics of the functioning of law enforcement agencies. Because of it, fraud can be recognized, for example, actions within the framework of a transaction between organizations in which there was no formal violation of civil legislation. For this reason, it is important that the materials of the criminal case be studied by an experienced lawyer. Their analysis will make it possible to understand how justified the suspicion of an offense is.

The lawyer's participation in the case will also help:

avoid illegal actions by law enforcement officials;

ensure strict compliance with criminal procedure legislation at the stage of preliminary investigation;

achieve the most favorable resolution of the case in court.

The latter may be expressed in the appointment of a non-custodial sentence or its maximum mitigation, termination of the criminal case.

If you are still accused of fraud…

In such cases, it is very important not to make typical mistakes, such as:

- follow the investigator's lead;
- formally approach the search for a lawyer.

As for the first, most common mistake, it is ubiquitous. Even at the stage of pre-investigation verification, when there is a procedural communication between a law enforcement operative and a potential suspect, it is necessary to understand that pressure, distortion of facts, intimidation with a long prison term may be exerted in case of refusal to plead guilty. This problem is most acute when our clients neglect the help of a qualified lawyer and go to the initial survey on their own. It can be extremely difficult to correct such errors in the future.

Always remember about Article 51 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, no one is obliged to testify against himself, his spouse and close relatives, whose circle is determined by federal law.

The logical thing to do here would be to move on to the second error.

When do I need a lawyer?

Choosing a qualified specialist – a profile lawyer who would knowingly develop a specific action plan, defense tactics, is perhaps the main and primary step towards resolving the current problem.

Note that any assistance, not an exception and legal, must be provided in a timely manner. It is important to understand that a criminal case on fraud, as a rule, is not initiated without verification materials, the existence of which the principals usually do not know. According to the application, a check can be carried out for a very long time. This is the most precious time for such crimes.

When entering into any legal relationship, the participants in these relations should be aware that they always bear the burden of responsibility for all decisions taken. In various situations, not always both sides of the legal relationship remain satisfied and satisfied with the result. It should be added that often our principals make mistakes, connivance not out of malice, but simply out of ignorance of a particular area. But, let's say, the "losing side", realizing the hopelessness of the situation when there is nothing left to lose,; he takes advantage of this, appeals to law enforcement agencies with allegations of fraud, and criminal cases are often initiated.

At the moment, the list of articles on fraud includes Article 159.1. Fraud in the field of lending, Article 159.2. Fraud in receiving payments, Article 159.3. Fraud using payment cards, Article 159.5. Fraud in the field of insurance, Article 159.6. Fraud in the field of computer information. All the listed compounds have one common feature: theft of property is committed by deception or by abuse of trust. From which it follows that the investigation is obliged to prove the subjective side of fraud, which is characterized by direct intent and selfish purpose. Otherwise, the act cannot be qualified under the specified articles.

Of course, we do not always deal only with registered criminal cases, or cases of complete innocence of our principals. Of course, citizens who have actually committed fraudulent actions also turn to us. They need the legal assistance of a qualified lawyer no less than the innocent.Against the background of their guilt and admission or non-admission of guilt, cases of pressure on them from law enforcement agencies, extortion of funds, artificial increase in episodes of criminal acts are not uncommon. The task of the lawyer in this case is precisely to direct the course of the investigation of the criminal case into the legal framework, to exclude illegal actions, to minimize punishment.

Victim protection

The victim may have the following problems:

Red tape. If it is impossible to establish the identity or location of the suspect, the preliminary investigation may take a long time.

Unjustified refusal to initiate a case. Sometimes, according to the results of a pre-investigation check, they refuse to initiate a criminal case. This does not always happen reasonably, the victim is often not notified about it within the established time frame, as a result, it is very difficult for him to appeal such a decision on his own.