Cheating (law)

Last updated

At law, cheating is a specific criminal offence relating to property.

Contents

Historically, to cheat was to commit a misdemeanour at common law. However, in most jurisdictions, the offence has now been codified into statute. [1]

In most cases the codified statutory form of cheating and the original common law offence are very similar, however there can be differences. For example, under English law it was held in R v Sinclair [2] that "[t]o cheat and defraud is to act with deliberate dishonesty to the prejudice of another person's proprietary right." However, at common law a great deal of authority suggested that there had to be contrivance, such that the public were likely to be deceived and that "common prudence and caution are not sufficient security against a person being defrauded thereby". [3]

Examples of cheating upheld by the courts have included fraudulently pretending to have power to discharge a soldier, [4] using false weights or measures, [5] and playing with false dice. [6]

Definition

In relation to the common law offence, no judicial definition of the offence was ever laid down, but the description of the offence set down in Stephen's Criminal Digest [7] [8] is regarded as fairly comprehensive, and is cited as an authoritative definition by Stroud's Judicial Dictionary .

Every one commits the misdemeanour called cheating who fraudulently obtains the property of another by any deceitful practice not amounting to felony, which practice is of such a nature that it directly affects, or may directly affect, the public at large. But it is not cheating, within the meaning of this article, to deceive any person in any contract or private dealing by lies, unaccompanied by such practices as aforesaid. [9]

Other statutory uses

A number of jurisdictions also have statutory offences relating to cheating in gambling. See for example section 42(3) of the Gambling Act 2005.

England and Wales

The common law offence of cheating was abolished, except as regards offences relating to the public revenue, by section 32(1)(a) of the Theft Act 1968.

Cheating the public revenue

William Harkins said that "all frauds affecting the Crown and public at large are indictable as cheats at common law". [10] This passage was cited in R v Mulligan. [11]

Prosecutions under the common law are still pursued in England and can result in heavy sentences – significantly in excess of the maximum available to the courts for corresponding statutory offences. [12]

The following cases are also relevant:

Sentence

See R v Regan, [17] Attorney General's References (Nos. 88, 89, 98 and 91 of 2006), and R v Meehan and others. [18]

Cheating at play

This offence was formally created by section 17 of the Gaming Act 1845. The current English legislation on cheating in betting is found in s. 42 Gambling Act 2005.

Going equipped for cheat

In section 25 of the Theft Act 1968, the word "cheat" meant an offence under section 15 of that Act. [19] The said section 15 created the offence of obtaining property by deception. The Fraud Act 2006 replaced these offences with new ones using different terminology.

References and notes

  1. ↑ In Florida cheating remains a criminal offence by virtue of Fla. Stat. § 775.01 which provides that English common law crimes are crimes in Florida, but a specific statutory penalty for cheating is supplied by Fla. Stat. § 817.29
  2. ↑ R v Sinclair [1968] 3 All 241
  3. ↑ Halsbury's Laws of England , 2nd ed., Vol IX, para 944 citing various older common law cases
  4. ↑ R. v. Serlested (1627) Lat 202
  5. ↑ R. v. Closs (1857) Dears & B 460
  6. ↑ R. v. Maddocke (1619) 2 Roll Rep 107
  7. ↑ Stephen's Criminal Digest, 9th Ed., 362
  8. ↑ Harrison, Karen; Ryder, Nicholas (2016). The Law Relating to Financial Crime in the United Kingdom. Taylor & Francis. p. 203. ISBN   978-1-317-02602-0. James Fitzjames Stephen, A Digest of the Criminal Law 9th ed. (Sweet & Maxwell:London, 1950, 362)
  9. ↑ Stroud, Frederick (1890). The Judicial Dictionary of Words and Phrases Judicially Interpreted. Sweet and Maxwell, limited. p. 124.
  10. ↑ William Hawkins. Treatise of Pleas of the Crown . Eighth Edition. Page 1322
  11. ↑ R v Mulligan [1990] Crim LR 427
  12. ↑ David Winch (14 July 2012). "17 year sentence for VAT carousel fraud". Bartfields Forensic Solicitors.
  13. ↑ R v Hudson, [1956] 2 QB 252, [1956] 2 WLR 914, [1956] 1 All ER 814, 40 Cr App R 55, [1956] Crim LR 814
  14. ↑ R v Mavji, [1987] 2 All ER 758, 84 Cr App R 34, [1987] Crim LR 39, CA
  15. ↑ R v Redford, 89 Cr App R 1, [1989] Crim LR 152, CA
  16. ↑ R v Hunt, [1994] Crim LR 747, CA
  17. ↑ R v Regan, 11 Cr App R (S) 15, CA
  18. ↑ R v Meehan and others, [2006] All ER (D) 105
  19. ↑ Theft Act 1968, section 25(5)

Related Research Articles

Robbery is the crime of taking or attempting to take anything of value by force, threat of force, or by use of fear. According to common law, robbery is defined as taking the property of another, with the intent to permanently deprive the person of that property, by means of force or fear; that is, it is a larceny or theft accomplished by an assault. Precise definitions of the offence may vary between jurisdictions. Robbery is differentiated from other forms of theft by its inherently violent nature ; whereas many lesser forms of theft are punished as misdemeanors, robbery is always a felony in jurisdictions that distinguish between the two. Under English law, most forms of theft are triable either way, whereas robbery is triable only on indictment. The word "rob" came via French from Late Latin words of Germanic origin, from Common Germanic raub "theft".

Assault occasioning grievous bodily harm is a term used in English criminal law to describe the severest forms of battery. It refers to two offences that are created by sections 18 and 20 of the Offences against the Person Act 1861. The distinction between these two sections is the requirement of specific intent for section 18; the offence under section 18 is variously referred to as "wounding with intent" or "causing grievous bodily harm with intent", whereas the offence under section 20 is variously referred to as "unlawful wounding", "malicious wounding" or "inflicting grievous bodily harm".

In criminal law, incitement is the encouragement of another person to commit a crime. Depending on the jurisdiction, some or all types of incitement may be illegal. Where illegal, it is known as an inchoate offense, where harm is intended but may or may not have actually occurred.

In criminal law, a mistake of fact may sometimes mean that, while a person has committed the physical element of an offence, because they were labouring under a mistake of fact, they never formed the mental element. This is unlike a mistake of law, which is not usually a defense; law enforcement may or may not take for granted that individuals know what the law is.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Theft Act 1978</span> United Kingdom legislation

The Theft Act 1978 is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It supplemented the earlier deception offences contained in sections 15 and 16 of the Theft Act 1968 by reforming some aspects of those offences and adding new provisions. See also the Fraud Act 2006.

Assault occasioning actual bodily harm is a statutory offence of aggravated assault in England and Wales, Northern Ireland, the Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, Hong Kong and the Solomon Islands. It has been abolished in the Republic of Ireland and in South Australia, but replaced with a similar offence.

In criminal law and in the law of tort, recklessness may be defined as the state of mind where a person deliberately and unjustifiably pursues a course of action while consciously disregarding any risks flowing from such action. Recklessness is less culpable than malice, but is more blameworthy than carelessness.

"Deception" was a legal term of art used in the definition of statutory offences in England and Wales and Northern Ireland. It is a legal term of art in the Republic of Ireland.

Violent disorder is a statutory offence in England and Wales. It is created by section 2(1) of the Public Order Act 1986. Sections 2(1) to (4) of that Act provide:

Conspiracy to defraud is an offence under the common law of England and Wales and Northern Ireland.

Defamatory libel was originally an offence under the common law of England. It has been established in England and Wales and Northern Ireland. It was or is a form of criminal libel, a term with which it is synonymous.

Obtaining pecuniary advantage by deception was formerly a statutory offence in England and Wales and Northern Ireland. It was replaced with the more general offence of fraud by the Fraud Act 2006. The offence still subsists in certain other common law jurisdictions which have copied the English criminal model.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">English criminal law</span> Legal system of England and Wales relating to crime

English criminal law concerns offences, their prevention and the consequences, in England and Wales. Criminal conduct is considered to be a wrong against the whole of a community, rather than just the private individuals affected. The state, in addition to certain international organisations, has responsibility for crime prevention, for bringing the culprits to justice, and for dealing with convicted offenders. The police, the criminal courts and prisons are all publicly funded services, though the main focus of criminal law concerns the role of the courts, how they apply criminal statutes and common law, and why some forms of behaviour are considered criminal. The fundamentals of a crime are a guilty act and a guilty mental state. The traditional view is that moral culpability requires that a defendant should have recognised or intended that they were acting wrongly, although in modern regulation a large number of offences relating to road traffic, environmental damage, financial services and corporations, create strict liability that can be proven simply by the guilty act.

Obtaining property by deception was formerly a statutory offence in England and Wales and Northern Ireland.

The publication of an obscene libel was an offence under the common law of England. Prior to the abolition by section 1 of the Criminal Law Act 1967 of the distinction between felony and misdemeanour, it was regarded as a misdemeanour. It has been abolished in England and Wales and Northern Ireland.

Rape is a statutory offence in England and Wales. The offence is created by section 1 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003:

(1) A person (A) commits an offence if—

(2) Whether a belief is reasonable is to be determined having regard to all the circumstances, including any steps A has taken to ascertain whether B consents.
(3) Sections 75 and 76 apply to an offence under this section.

(4) A person guilty of an offence under this section is liable, on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for life.

Causing bodily harm by wanton or furious driving is a statutory offence in England and Wales and Northern Ireland. It has been abolished in the Republic of Ireland.

Obtaining a money transfer by deception was formerly a statutory offence in England and Wales and Northern Ireland.

Conspiracy to murder is a statutory offence defined by the intent to commit murder.

The expression sexual intercourse has been used as a legal term of art in England and Wales. From its enactment to its repeal on the 1 May 2004, section 44 of the Sexual Offences Act 1956 read:

Where, on the trial of any offence under this Act, it is necessary to prove sexual intercourse, it shall not be necessary to prove the completion of the intercourse by the emission of seed, but the intercourse shall be deemed complete upon proof of penetration only

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.