Serious Fraud Solicitors

Fraud is defined under the Fraud Act 2006 in three distinct ways: fraud by false representation, fraud by failing to disclose information you were under a legal duty to disclose, and fraud by abuse of position. The same set of facts can sometimes be charged under more than one of these, and which one the prosecution relies on can shape how the case is argued from the outset.

Serious fraud investigations are rarely quick. Depending on scale, they can be led by a local police economic crime unit, the Serious Fraud Office for the largest and most complex cases, or HMRC where the alleged fraud is tax-related. Each has different powers, different thresholds for taking on a case, and different timelines — understanding which body is involved, and why, shapes what a sensible response looks like.

Sentencing for fraud is assessed against the amount of money involved and the degree of culpability — a single lapse of judgement is treated very differently from sustained deception or the abuse of a position of trust, and courts also weigh the impact on any victims. None of that is decided until conviction, which is exactly why the investigation stage matters: the evidence gathered now, and the account you give, is what any trial — and any later sentencing exercise — will be built on.

In some cases, particularly involving businesses, self-reporting a suspected issue to the relevant authority before it comes to light independently can affect how the matter is later viewed — though that's a decision that needs proper legal advice, not something to act on alone. Whatever stage you're at, the earlier a case is properly understood, the more genuine options remain open.

• Investment and pyramid scheme fraud
• Banking and payment fraud
• Corporate and company fraud
• Fraud by false representation

Our approach to serious fraud starts with the same principle behind everything DN Law does: one team, instructed directly, from the first contact through to trial. We work with forensic accountants where the evidence demands it, and instruct counsel with genuine fraud experience directly into the case, so nothing is simply accepted at face value. We're also one of a smaller number of firms genuinely set up for pre-charge engagement — working with investigators and prosecutors before any charge is made, wherever that's realistically achievable, rather than only responding once proceedings have already started.

• HMRC criminal investigations
• Serious Fraud Office (SFO) matters
• Police economic crime enquiries
• Conspiracy to defraud
• Fraudulent trading and false accounting
• Money laundering
• Proceeds of Crime Act restraint and confiscation