Criminal Defence Lawyers for Intention to Deceive Members or Creditors by False or Misleading Statement of Officer of Organisation

You can only be guilty to a charge of deceiving members or creditors by false or misleading statements as an officer of an organisation if police can prove each of the following elements to this offence:

• You are an officer or manager of an organisation;
• You dishonestly made or published a statement i.e. Doesn’t have to be in writing;
• At that time, you intended to deceive members or creditors of the organisation about its affairs; and
• At that time you were aware that the statement is or may be false or misleading in a material particular.

You will be not guilty, and your charge dismissed if police fail to prove beyond reasonable doubt each of the above elements of the offence.

Defences to this charge

You will be Not Guilty if:

• You had no intention of deceiving members or creditors of the organisation about its affairs, nor did you advert to a probable consequence of deceiving them.
• The statement you made was trivial or inconsequential i.e. The statement was not capable of influencing the victim’s attitude to the claim made upon it.
• You made the statement honestly believing it to be true in circumstances it was reasonable to have held that belief.
• Statement doesn’t creat a false impression.
• Duress or Necessity. i.e. You were threatened to commit the offence.

Your charge will be dismissed and you will be found not guilty if any one of the above defences apply to your case. Our senior fraud lawyers have vigorously fought and won complex fraud charges countless times for over 20 years. They will immediately find your best defence and start the process of strengthening. Their first focus will be on convincing police to drop the charges early, an area they pride themselves in specialising and succeeding countless times over the years.

If you decide to plead guilty to this charge, it’s critical to get experienced advice and guidance from a specialist fraud lawyer who will maximise your chances at getting the most lenient possible outcome to avoid prison and even conviction. Below are useful tips and hints on how to best go about doing this.

25% discount on punishment

Pleading guilty to a charge of intention to deceive early In your case will allow you a discount of up to 25% on your punishment. This will mean a much more lenient result in court by the Judge. The later a plea of guilty is entered, the less the discount becomes.

An early plea of guilty is also seen as an expression of your remorse, leading to a better result. This is why it’s crucial to get realistic experienced advice early in your case to ensure you don’t miss out on the full discount.

Good character references

Well written good character reference letters for the Judge to read can allow the Judge to give you further leniency, giving you a better result in court. For best chances at this, ensure your letters express your good character, remorse, insight of your conduct, and shame.

Our senior lawyers will review each letter with feedback and guide you in the process. Good character reference letters can include a letter of apology from you, letters from your friend, family, work or colleague, charity and partner.

Negotiate to drop charges

By carefully looking into the police evidence, an experienced defence lawyer can negotiate to convince police to drop the charge early. This has often been successfully achieved by our team of senior lawyers who will pick out all the holes in the police evidence, then strategically approach the police in the best way suited to your case.

Our senior lawyers specialise in getting charges dropped early. They have developed a rare skill in maximising your chances at succeeding for over 20 years.

Negotiate facts

By analysing the police evidence and pick out each hole in their case, an experienced fraud lawyer can convince police to change the set of police facts to something more favourable to you. This is often achieved by changing the facts you plead guilty to, to put you in a better light, attracting a lighter punishment and better result.

It’s often necessary to change this document before its read by the Judge. This is because the original set of police facts expressing your offending behaviour is initially drafted by police and is often one sided.

Psychologist reports

A powerful court report from a highly respected psychologist or psychiatrist for the Judge to read often significantly improves the court result with a much more lenient outcome. To get the full potential from such a report, it should express opinions on your mental state, remorse and insight to allow the Judge to consider a more favourable outcome.

Our lawyers will guide and refer you to one of the top psychologists or psychiatrists in Australia best suited to your case.

Maximum penalty

The maximum punishment for a charge of intention to deceive is imprisonment of up to 7 years. If dealt with in the Local Court, which it normally is, the maximum is imprisonment of up to 2 years.

It’s important to know that the maximum punishment is only given to the most serious offenders. Courts normally don’t give it as there are many other kinds of punishment available, noted below.

Types of penalties

Based on the above points in preparing and presenting your case, the Judge can give you any one of the following punishments for this offence:

1. Section 10 Dismissal
2. Conditional Release Order
3. Fine
4. Community Correction Order
5. Intensive Correction Order
6. Full Time Imprisonment

For highly experienced and specialised advice and guidance in your fraud charge, speak to one of our Sydney team of senior fraud lawyers for realistic and practical advice. Recognised as leading experts in fraud charges, they will immediately begin the process of preparing and powerfully presenting your case to maximise your chances at getting the best possible outcome in court.

Call us now on (02) 8606 2218 to book a free first consultation with an experienced Fraud Defence Lawyer.