| | | Categories | | The illegal transfer of moneyor property that, although possessed legallyby the embezzler, is diverted to the embezzlerpersonally by his or her fraudulent action. For example, an employee would embezzle money fromthe employer or a public officer could embezzlemoney received during the course of their publicduties and secretly convert it to their personaluse.
| | n.the crime of intentionally lying after being dulysworn (to tell the truth) by a notary public, courtclerk or other official. This false statement may bemade in testimony in court, administrative hearings,depositions, answers to interrogatories, as well asby signing or acknowledging a written legal document(such as affidavit, declaration under penalty ofperjury, deed, license application, tax return)known to contain false information. Although it is acrime, prosecutions for perjury are rare, because adefendant will argue he/she merely made a mistake ormisunderstood.
| | n.the intentional use of deceit, a trick or somedishonest means to deprive another of his/her/itsmoney, property or a legal right. A party who haslost something due to fraud is entitled to file alawsuit for damages against the party actingfraudulently, and the damages may include punitivedamages as a punishment or public example due to themalicious nature of the fraud. Quite often there areseveral persons involved in a scheme to commit fraudand each and all may be liable for the totaldamages. Inherent in fraud is an unjust advantageover another which injures that person or entity. Itincludes failing to point out a known mistake in acontract or other writing (such as a deed), or notrevealing a fact which he/she has a duty tocommunicate, such as a survey which shows there areonly 10 acres of land being purchased and not 20 asoriginally understood. Constructive fraud can beproved by a showing of breach of legal duty (likeusing the trust funds held for another in aninvestment in one's own business) without directproof of fraud or fraudulent intent. Extrinsic fraudoccurs when deceit is employed to keep someone fromexercising a right, such as a fair trial, by hidingevidence or misleading the opposing party in alawsuit. Since fraud is intended to employdishonesty to deprive another of money, property ora right, it can also be a crime for which thefraudulent person(s) can be charged, tried andconvicted. Borderline overreaching or takingadvantage of another's naiveté involving smalleramounts is often overlooked by law enforcement,which suggests the victim seek a "civilremedy" (i.e., sue). However, increasinglyfraud, which has victimized a large segment of thepublic (even in individually small amounts), hasbecome the target of consumer fraud divisions in theoffices of district attorneys and attorneys general.
| | n.the generic term for all crimes in which a personintentionally and fraudulently takes personalproperty of another without permission or consentand with the intent to convert it to the taker's use(including potential sale). In many states, if thevalue of the property taken is low (for example,less than $500) the crime is "pettytheft," but it is "grand theft" forlarger amounts, designated misdemeanor or felony,respectively. Theft is synonymous with"larceny." Although robbery (taking byforce), burglary (taken by entering unlawfully) andembezzlement (stealing from an employer) are allcommonly thought of as theft, they are distinguishedby the means and methods used and are separatelydesignated as those types of crimes in criminalcharges and statutory punishments.
| | n.1) the crime of creating a false document, alteringa document, or writing a false signature for theillegal benefit of the person making the forgery.This includes improperly filling in a blankdocument, like an automobile purchase contract, overa buyer's signature, with the terms different fromthose agreed. It does not include such innocentrepresentation as a staff member autographing photosof politicians or movie stars. While similar toforgery, counterfeiting refers to the creation ofphony money, stock certificates or bonds which arenegotiable for cash. 2) a document or signaturefalsely created or altered.
| | 1)adj. describing a document, particularly money,which is forged or created to look real and intendedto pass for real. 2) v. to criminally forge or printa false copy of money, bonds, or other valuabledocuments, intending to profit from the falsity. 3)n. shorthand for phony money passed for real.
| | n.obtaining money or property by threat to a victim'sproperty or loved ones, intimidation, or false claimof a right (such as pretending to be an IRS agent).It is a felony in all states, except that a directthreat to harm the victim is usually treated as thecrime of robbery. Blackmail is a form of extortionin which the threat is to expose embarrassing,damaging information to family, friends or thepublic.
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