Orange County Business Fraud Attorney

Fraud and deception can range from an affirmative misrepresentation, a failure to disclose a material fact, a breach of trust, a breach of fiduciary duty, corporate theft and embezzlement, employee theft and dishonesty, fraud in the inducement, false pretenses, and securities fraud, among others. Often there is a fine line between civil and criminal wrongdoing.

Because the acts which establish fraud can also establish other claims it is important to analyze the circumstances of the transaction before jumping to conclusions, committing to a position, or limiting your options. What may appear to be a breach of contract or negligence may be a fraud and what may appear to be fraud may be a straight-forward contract dispute.

Fraud can appear on the face of the transaction, or it can hide in the details, documents, or flow of money. A few circumstances in which fraud may arise include:

• A person or business induces you to invest by making false or misleading statements or failing to disclose material facts. Later, you wonder where your investment went
• A party signs a promissory note with no intention of ever paying you back
• An employee or corporate officer steals property, trade secrets, or other intellectual property to set up a competing company, or engages in other unfair business practices and competition
• An employee or executive embezzles corporate funds
• A professional service provider (e.g., lawyer, accountant, or contractor) engages in fraudulent billing practices by padding the bill or billing for work not completed
• A debtor fraudulently conveys assets to another state or foreign country, or to the debtor’s family members
• A company engages in false advertising or makes false claims about a product or service, which may establish consumer fraud
• A person lies about themselves or fails to disclose a fact which if you knew about would have caused you to act differently
• Securities or investment fraud (e.g., dishonest officer or employee who manipulates data to overstate revenues and assets or understate costs and liabilities)
• Ponzi schemes, scams, false pretenses
• Employment fraud (e.g., overstating or misrepresenting the nature and/or scope of an employment opportunity; misrepresenting qualifications; using company resources for   personal use)