Evasion of liability by deception
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Evasion of liability by deception was formerly a statutory offence in England and Wales and Northern Ireland.
This offence was created by the Theft Act 1978. The law clarified existing law to explicitly make it a crime to, by deception, induce a creditor to remit a liability (i.e., a debt) in whole or part; induce the creditor to wait for payment or to forgo payment; or where the deception exempts a person from a liability or reduces the liability which would have arisen but for the deception. Under section 16 of the Theft Act 1968, it was more ambiguous under what circumstances such deception comprised a crime.