Chester County Fraud Lawyer

In Chester County, fraud is treated as a very serious offense that often involves documents and materials connected to a commercial transaction. As defined by Pennsylvania law, fraud offenses incorporate the crime of theft, receiving stolen property, and in most cases, theft of services. Fraud can be defined by citing or executing a secure document, a document or instrument such as a commercial loan or another monetary document, in a manner to deprive the lawful owner out of such property.

Fraud can often be used when dealing with documents, as well as individuals who portray themselves to be something they are not. The crime of fraud, generally in Pennsylvania, requires some sort of writing instrument, the unauthorized signing electronically, or actually, of someone’s name. Because fraud is a general term, there are nearly 20 other crimes more specific to fraud that come into play. It may be critical to the outcome of your case to contact a Chester County fraud lawyer. A distinguished criminal lawyer could stand by you throughout your trial and help you build a strong defense against the state’s accusations.

Common Types of Fraud

One of the most common types of fraud in Chester County is check fraud, when an individual attempts to use another’s monetary check value without authorization either by creating a new check or fraudulently signing an actual check and then placing the check at an institution and presenting it for payment. Other common types of fraud involve credit card fraud, or using another person’s information to obtain credit cards, or other items such as debit cards, to obtain items that they would not otherwise be authorized for.

Fraud becomes a factor in documents such as land transfer deeds, welfare benefits, any other social security or other government benefit received by someone not authorized to do so. An individual should contact a Chester County fraud lawyer because those cases often have more specific crimes charged generally. Those specific crimes involve welfare fraud, social security fraud or any other type of monetary fraud specific to the item that is fraudulently being presented to an institution for payment.

Impact of the Internet

The internet has made a significant impact on the number of transactions that, throughout the entire state, occur on a daily basis. These transactions often involve means of payment such as credit cards, debit cards, and even PayPal accounts. These transactions are often in the thousands every five to ten minutes. In cases involving internet transfers, fraud, check fraud, credit card fraud, even benefits fraud comes into play. Not only does it come into play in limited circumstances but, thousands of times a day, an individual could be taken for fraudulent activity.

The internet has created an easy means of making purchases and commercial transactions. In those transactions, personal information is kept sometimes not in the most secure places and others, also using the internet, can obtain such information for their own personal use, thus committing a fraudulent offense. If a person is being criminally investigated for a fraud offense and such offense involves alleged internet use, obtaining the services of an experienced Chester County fraud lawyer could be helpful. Understanding the system, understanding what needs to be done, and being able to look for any defenses to the prosecution may be the best way for an individual to protect their rights.