Conspiracy to commit fraud UK sentencing guidelines 

Fraud is a complicated legal issue that most people have heard of, but few understand it in all of its details. A specific kind of fraud that you may have come across is known as conspiracy to commit fraud.

If you’ve been accused of conspiracy to commit fraud, or if you suspect that you’re under investigation, you could be facing serious legal action even if you haven’t actually carried out an act of fraud.

While we explore the sentencing guidelines in this article, it’s important to note that if you’re involved in a fraud investigation, you need to seek legal advice at the earliest opportunity available. Fraud cases, especially those involving a conspiracy element, can be very tricky to defend against, and you’ll need all the time you can get.

 

Conspiracy to commit fraud defined

Fraud is defined under the Fraud Act 2006 as the offence of intentionally deceiving another party, in order to bring about personal gain or cause loss. The important part in both regular fraud cases and conspiracy cases is intention; in order to be found guilty, the prosecution will need to show that the deception could not have been accidental.

With conspiracy to commit fraud cases, intention and planning are even more important. If you’ve been accused of this crime, it means that you’re suspected of planning, with a group of other people, to carry out an act of fraud, without even necessarily having carried out the act.

Unlike regular fraud, conspiracy to commit fraud is generally charged under the Criminal Law Act 1977. You need to make sure that you engage a solicitor who is aware of these legal nuances, and has extensive experience navigating them.

 

Example of conspiracy to commit fraud

Conspiracy to commit fraud cases essentially entails a group of at least two people planning to carry out an act of fraud. That could mean that they agree to trick people into paying for a service, such as a construction job, that they then do not provide to the defrauded customer.

Different people in the conspiracy will likely carry out different roles. One person might coordinate, while others act to gain the trust of the victims, or to create an elaborate front that lends the operation a certain legitimacy.

The prosecution will need to be able to prove that the group actually intended to carry out the act which had been planned. This can be difficult to do, but if you’ve been charged, it’s likely that the CPS are confident that they have enough evidence to ensure a conviction, meaning you should absolutely take your defence development seriously. 

 

Sentencing guidelines for conspiracy to commit fraud

The sentencing guidelines state that the statutory maximum sentence for conspiracy to commit fraud is 10 years in prison. With an offence range of between discharge and 8 years in prison, even if you don’t receive a sentence at the upper end of that range, you could still be facing serious legal consequences.

One thing to note is that unlike with a standard fraud case, you possibly won’t be accused of actually defrauding another party. As a result, it’s likely that you won’t face action under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, which is typically used to recover assets that were gained through criminal activity. 

That being said, in the case that you’re charged with conspiracy to commit fraud along with other criminal charges, it’s possible that the courts will still try to recover other assets from you. 

 

Impacting factors

When assessing which sentence is appropriate, the sentencing guidelines require determining the offence category. This means assessing both culpability and harm.

Culpability

To assess culpability, the court will try to see how you were involved in the criminal activity, and the context around your participation.

High culpability

If you played a leading role in the conspiracy, involving other parties through the application of pressure or influence, and planned a sophisticated and large-scale fraud, you will likely be placed in the higher culpability bracket.

Medium culpability

If you played a significant role in the conspiracy, but there are also factors which are applicable under the lesser culpability bracket, you might be placed in the medium culpability range.

Lesser culpability

If you were intimidated or coerced into involvement, played a peripheral role, and had limited awareness of the activity you were involved in, you will likely be placed in the lesser culpability bracket.

 

Harm

In conspiracy to commit fraud cases, harm is generally assessed by the financial value that was intended to be gained or caused to be lost, and by demonstrating the impact that it would have had on the victim(s).

In terms of financial value, fraud conspiracies where the intended loss was above £500,000 will be placed in Category 1, while at the other end of the scale, cases where the intended loss was below £5,000 will be placed in Category 5. 

The victim impact will be assessed by looking at the vulnerable characteristics of the victim, and the detrimental effect it would have had on their finances. Some of these kinds of harms will likely be more difficult to prove in conspiracy to defraud cases than others.

 

Seeking legal advice

Conspiracy to commit fraud charges can be very difficult to defend against, and you’ll require a legal team who have successfully forged these kinds of defences before. They’ll need to find nuanced ways of undermining the prosecution’s case against you, often centring around tricky-to-prove details like intentionality.

In more practical terms, your criminal defence solicitor will be able to:

• Provide you with legal advice before and during any interviews under caution you need to attend, whether with the police or another investigatory body
• Help you to develop a strong legal defence, arranging for your representation in court if necessary
• Ensure that you’re treated by the law in a just and fair manner at all times
• Help to guide you through the appeals process, should you believe the result is unjust.

It’s important that you aren’t rushed when developing your defence so that you don’t miss out on anything. Reach out for legal assistance now, to ensure that this is the case.