What makes fraud a felony

Code Chapter A. Wire fraud refers not as much to the crime committed, or even the victim targeted, but rather the communication used to commit the fraud.

It comes with up to 20 years in prison and a fine, or 30 years and a million dollar fine if it involves posing as a charity for a presidential-declared national emergency or a financial institution. Punishments can vary based on how much damage occured, who was targeted, how large the scheme was, and the methods involved. Because so many of these crimes take place in this manner, a large majority of fraud cases will be covered by this law, making them federal felonies.

All of the crimes on this list are considered serious crimes and will not be taken lightly. You must be logged in to post a comment. Photo by Pixabay on Pexels. Most of the time these will be investment scams Advance Fee Fraud This type of fraud occurs when a scammer asks for money up front for something — a product, investment, service, etc.

Account Takeover Fraud This can be a very serious crime depending on the account hacked and how much was purchased, but it typically involves a hacker obtaining login information from someone without permission, usually with malware or some other technical method, and then using the account to make purchases and more. Bank Fraud This crime is pretty serious, coming with a possible conviction of 30 years in prison and a million dollar fine.

Bankruptcy Fraud This is one of the types of fraud that qualifies as a white collar crime , and it all involves someone filing bankruptcy and using dishonest practices for their gain. Photo by energepic. Debit and Credit Card Fraud Elderly Fraud This is another type of fraud that relies more on the victim targeted versus the type of scam occurring. Identity Theft This section is also pretty broad, including obtaining any type of personal or identifying information from someone without their permission, usually through some kind of scam or hacking.

This has been governed since by the Identity Theft and Assumption Deterrence Act , which allows the Secret Service to pursue cases where someone: 1 receives, acquires, obtains, purchases, sells, transfers, traffics in, steals, possesses, or uses any personal identifier, identification device, personal information or data, or other document or means of identification of any other entity or person; 2 assumes, adopts, takes, acquires, or uses the identity of any other entity or person; or 3 attempts, solicits another person, or conspires with another person to commit such offense.

Insurance Fraud This can be perpetrated by both insurance members and practitioners, often taking the form of either not reporting information or filing multiple or unnecessary claims, respectively. Mail Fraud The mail fraud statute has been around for a long time — since Ponzi and Pyramid Schemes Ponzi and pyramid schemes are similar in the fact that they both involve recruiting lower levels to help pay for the higher levels under the guise of an investment — Ponzi — or franchise -pyramid — opportunity.

Tax Fraud Tax fraud occurs when any type of deception or false information occurs surrounding a tax filing. Photo by Lisa Fotios on Pexels. Wire Fraud Wire fraud refers not as much to the crime committed, or even the victim targeted, but rather the communication used to commit the fraud.

Acting as a charity to accept or request donations from individuals is charity fraud. However, it works both ways as well. Not giving payment once merchandise or another good has been received can also be fraud. Another scheme involves sending more than an amount owed to someone, and then asking for the excess funds to be transferred back to, usually an overseas, bank account.

It is then found that the initial money sent was fraudulent. This is when someone orders a medication, believing it to be the accurate medication that they ordered, and the drug they are sent is not what they ordered — whether it be missing the active ingredient, contaminated, or have the wrong ingredients. This is a particularly dangerous scheme, and caution must always be exercised when ordering prescription drugs online.

Criminals will sometimes use schemes to obtain identity information to open up credit card accounts without permission as well. This is quite like the scheme involving fake prescription drugs, and this can be dangerous as well.

Often, these cosmetics and other products will be promoted as name brand or advertised to have healthy, legitimate components, and the product received is not the product ordered. Health care schemes usually target patients. They do this by selling fraudulent insurance cards, stolen or fake medication, supplements, weight loss pills, and more.

Sometimes this is done by obtaining a valid prescription, but then selling them on the internet. It may be offering medical equipment for free, only to turn around and charge the insurance company for the cost. Additionally, those insured and providers may bill insurance companies for services that were never actually performed, or altering the information for a higher payout than reserved for the case. Providers may also provide unnecessary treatment, just for the sake of billing.

Insurance members may report inaccurate information when applying for better rates or other reasons, as well as allowing someone else to use their health insurance card. Unfortunately, the costs assumed for these practices often go back to the insurance customers. This is a federal crime on its own, regardless of whether it was acquired or used through the internet or other wire communication.

Types of data that can be stolen through identity theft are your social security number, credit card number or pin, credit history, and other identifying pieces of information.

Market manipulation fraud usually occurs when a perpetrator leads others to believe that their low-trading stock is in high demand in order to raise the price, usually through manipulation tactics to sell to unsuspecting purchasers.

This type of behavior can cause drastic damage to the market, quickly turning stock prices upside down. Third, the false statement must be made with the intent to deprive the victim of some legal right. If the person committing bankruptcy fraud is a current client and the information is revealed during a private meeting for purposes of representation, the lawyer is generally not permitted to disclose the information without informed consent from the client.

However, there are several exceptions to this rule. Fraud on the Court Law and Legal Definition. Fraud on the court occurs when the judicial machinery itself has been tainted, such as when an attorney, who is an officer of the court, is involved in the perpetration of a fraud or makes material misrepresentations to the court.

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