Commercial Fraud Solicitors.

At its heart, commercial fraud is the misrepresentation by a business or individual to receive gain from another party that they would not otherwise have received. It can be treated as a criminal or civil matter depending on the nature of the fraud and can therefore be punishable by imprisonment.

Several scenarios fall under the umbrella of commercial fraud, but the common denominator is typically dishonesty during a business transaction.

Some examples include:

• Offering misleading information on accounts during the sale of a business to attract higher bids
• Misrepresenting financial figures to secure investment or interest in shares
• Assuming the identity of another company for commercial or personal gain
• Moving assets between businesses
• Misselling or false advertising of a product to secure product interest and sales

The most common form of commercial fraud is fraud by deceit. For a case to be successful, there must be loss or damage to one of the parties.

Commercial fraud claims are challenging to prove. As with any solid civil or criminal defence case, the likelihood of a claim being successful or dismissed lies with the strength of any evidence.

In these situations, you often must speak to a solicitor to understand whether the claim has any chance of success.

Failing to take action now allows any potential claimant to build a stronger case or defendant to build a more robust defence.

Depending on your matter, a typical case would involve:

1. Initial consultation to understand your matter
2. Review of the claim or situation and deciding whether there is a case for commercial fraud
3. Advising on the claim and any evidence that is required

And then as a claimant:

1. Drafting and sending a letter before action to the other side outlining your claim and position
2. Dealing with the response, if any
3. Drafting and finalising your particulars of claim
4. Issuing your claim at the court
5. Dealing with the defence from the other side
6. Progressing through the standard litigation court process
7. Settling the claim out of court or going to trial if a settlement is not possible
8. Enforcing the judgement if it’s in your favour or appealing any decision if unsuccessful, if there is reason to believe this would be successful

Or as a defendant:

1. Dealing with any letters from HMRC and providing any information requested
2. Calling in the help of expert witnesses to build your defence
3. Dealing with the findings of HMRC’s investigation
4. Attending any criminal court hearings
5. Dealing with the outcome of the claim or appealing the result if appropriate

To contact one of our commercial fraud solicitors, please call us on 020 3007 5500.

There is no set length of time it takes to resolve a claim for commercial fraud. Some claims can be resolved in months, while others can take years.

For cases that proceed to the County, High or Crown Court, this will depend on the court’s availability and can take anything from 1 to 5 years from start to finish.

Each case is different, which is why we offer an untimed initial consultation, at which stage your solicitor will provide an estimate for:

• How long they expect it will take to achieve your desired outcome
• How much you can expect to pay
• The work that is involved, for example, drafting and sending a letter before action, going through mediation or filing the case at court

Should you choose to instruct our firm, we will write to you confirming our fee estimate.

If your case needs to be referred to a court, there may be additional administration fees (printing, bundle assembly and postage), as well as any relevant court fees payable to the court.

Depending on the severity of the claim, there may be high additional costs to receive expert witness reports regardless of whether you are defending or making a claim for commercial fraud.