Fraud on a large and especially large scale: general characteristics, composition and types of crimes, punishment

Among the list of illegal attacks on property, the actions of fraudsters stand apart. Almost every day the public learns about new deception schemes from scammers. The most significant harm is caused by fraud on an especially large scale .

Its victims are not only ordinary citizens, but also enterprises and even the state. It often happens that intent is difficult to prove. In this case, the investigative authorities are forced to painstakingly collect evidence.

There are a number of articles in the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation that provide for punishment for this crime. It may differ depending on the object targeted by criminal attacks. Let's consider this act in detail.

Large scale in fraud: corpus delicti

To begin with, a few words need to be said about what constitutes this illegal act.

The law interprets it as the taking of property (including money) of the injured party by deception or gaining confidence in it in various ways.

From the perspective of criminal law, fraud should be distinguished from theft, robbery or robbery. After all, the victim gives his money or things voluntarily.

In addition, as a rule, attackers do not use physical violence against her. Moreover, often the deception is revealed only after a certain time.

Both administrative and criminal liability are established for illegal actions. The determining factor is the amount of damage caused.

Provided that the amount does not exceed two and a half thousand rubles, the culprit will be punished under the Administrative Code. Otherwise, the provisions of the special part of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation come into force.

The punishment depends on whether the fraud was carried out alone or whether an organized group of citizens specially created for illegal actions worked. Such an entity must include at least two people.

From what amount does large-scale fraud begin? The qualifying feature is the harm caused, expressed in monetary terms.

Separate sanctions are provided for large and especially large scale fraud. Specific amounts are indicated in the notes to some articles of the Criminal Code devoted to the varieties of this crime.

When there are no relevant instructions, you must be guided by paragraph 4 of Art. 158 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. It outlines the general value of missing property in all property crimes (Chapter 21 of the Code).

Differences from embezzlement and embezzlement

Speaking about fraud committed with the use of official position, we must not forget that another crime under Art. 160 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation – misappropriation or embezzlement. Moreover, Part 3 of this article has the same qualifying feature - the use of official powers.

How to distinguish these two compositions from each other? The key difference here is:

• In the case of misappropriation or embezzlement, there is a legally formalized relationship between the criminal and the victim, as a result of which material assets were handed over to the perpetrator for storage or temporary use.
• In case of fraud, the criminal has no legal grounds for obtaining property. There is no legal relationship between the perpetrator and the victim; all their contact is based solely on trust.

What is the damage?

Crimes against property are characterized by the presence of material losses. They can be expressed in monetary or other forms.

Provided that the fraud was aimed at financial assets, the damage is considered to be the corresponding amount that the attackers took possession of.

When property has become the subject of unlawful attacks, the damage is equal to its actual value at the time the act was committed. This point is emphasized by the Supreme Court in Resolution of the Plenum No. 48 of November 30, 2017.

At the stage of criminal proceedings, the investigator may order examinations, including commodity examinations. Their results help determine the amount of harm caused.

Some features of the definition of damage are related to the object of the attack. In a situation involving unlawful receipt of payments from the state, the total amount of money illegally transferred to the person is taken into account for qualification.

In case of fraud with bank cards, the total amount of transactions carried out is taken into account. It is easy to order a statement of card account movements from a bank office.

How much does a criminal case for fraud start from?

In accordance with criminal law, cases for fraudulent actions are initiated when the amount of damage exceeds 2,500 rubles. Let's take a closer look at the details.

Fraud as a type of illegal action is prosecuted on an administrative and criminal level. It all depends on the amount of material damage caused to the injured party.

Provided that the losses do not exceed 2,500 rubles, the punishment is imposed under Part 1 or 2 of Article 7.27 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation. Here, the culprit faces a fine of five times the amount stolen, compulsory labor, or arrest for up to 15 days.

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When a citizen, having already been brought to administrative responsibility under Part 2 of Art. 7.27, again commits similar actions, a criminal case is initiated against him under Art. 158.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. It provides for various sanctions: from a fine of 40,000 rubles to a year’s imprisonment.

Types of fraud on an especially large scale

Many people are interested in: how much does large-scale fraud mean in monetary terms? If the case concerns the injured party, then it is advisable for her to correctly refer to the rule of law in the statement. On the contrary, the accused should know what to prepare for in the worst case scenario.

As a general rule, a large size starts from an amount exceeding 250 thousand rubles . However, certain clauses are present in the articles regarding specific types of fraud.

The same applies to especially large losses. Article 158 states that the damage must exceed 1 million. Now let's look at some types of fraud.

Fraud on a large scale (Part 3 of Article 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation)

Responsibility for the culprit arises under this article in the case when the object of the attackers’ attacks is not separately identified. This is a common situation for most types of fraud.

Under Part 3 of Article 159, deliberate failure to fulfill contractual obligations with the participation of business representatives is also qualified.

Let's imagine a typical situation - the supplier handed over the goods to the buyer. However, the latter initially had no intention of making payments for him.

For the purpose of bringing a citizen to justice under the relevant part of the norm in question of the Criminal Code, large-scale fraud is considered to be fraud in the amount of 3,000,000 rubles. Damage beyond 12 million will be especially large.

In the field of lending (Article 159.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation)

Some citizens seek to obtain a loan using workarounds. To do this, the creditor is provided with false information or forged documents. This could be a stolen passport or a fictitious certificate of income.

Often, important information necessary for making a decision on issuing a loan is deliberately withheld. There are clients who do not inform the bank or other financial institution that they already have outstanding debts.

Sometimes criminal acts are committed with the participation of the lender’s employees themselves. In this case, we can talk about a group of people.

In relationships related to lending, fraud in an amount exceeding the threshold of 1,500,000 rubles is considered major. In turn, a particularly large size starts from 6 million.

When receiving social benefits (Article 159.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation)

This type of criminal action consists of obtaining pensions, benefits, subsidies, and other types of financial and material support from the state and local authorities by providing false information and fictitious documents.

There is also a downside to fraudulent activities. Let’s assume that a citizen received assistance legally until a certain point. However, then the rights to it were lost, but the competent authorities were not informed about this.

Then the illegally obtained funds turn into damage. A large size starts from an amount of over 250 thousand rubles, and an especially large one starts from a million.

Using issued payment cards (Article 159.3 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation)

Today, many people do not use cash, but prefer to use debit, credit, and salary bank cards of various types. It is not surprising that the funds located there are the object of attention of scammers.

Different schemes are used for this. Let's say a special device is installed in an ATM that allows you to read a PIN code and other important information on the card. As a result, access to the money located there opens up.

Fraudsters, under various pretexts, find out the card number and code from particularly gullible people. Then it is not difficult to take possession of the funds.

A request to transfer money to a card for a non-existent product can also be considered a sign of a crime. In terms of qualifying the amount of damage, it is the same as with the previous composition.

In the field of insurance (Article 159.5 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation)

This type of illegal action is directly related to obtaining compensation from the insurer by submitting false or forged documents for payments.

Several more situations can be cited to illustrate the elements of the crime. In one of them, a citizen deliberately imitated the occurrence of an insured event (set fire to property or deliberately crashed a car).

There is also an option practiced by some car enthusiasts. They have MTPL and CASCO policies issued by different insurance companies. If there is an accident, they try to apply for compensation twice.

The amount of damage that allows us to talk about a particularly large amount is given in the note to Article 159.1. It amounts to 6 million rubles or more.

When working with computer information (Article 159.6 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation)

This type of encroachment is rapidly gaining momentum. It is the responsibility of hackers who gain access to data stored on the computers of government agencies, banks, and strategically important enterprises.

Often, the victim himself contributes to the attacks without taking proper measures to protect the equipment and his passwords. Information can not only be stolen, but also damaged beyond repair.

For the crime in question, the damage is determined by the value of the data. To qualify the size, Art. 158 of the Criminal Code.

What to do if a person becomes a victim of scammers

A person who has suffered from fraudulent activities should immediately contact the nearest police station. It is important to remember that the later you contact government authorities, the less likely you are to get your money or property back.

Who is doing the investigation?

The investigation of fraudulent actions related to the seizure of property is carried out by:

1. Police investigators, if the crime falls under Part 1 of Article 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.
2. Police investigators, if the crime complies with parts 2-4 of Article 169 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.
3. Investigative Committee, if the offense was committed by officials.

As a rule, scammers work in groups and carefully think through all the details of the crime, which significantly prevents police officers from responding to a crime in a timely manner.

How to prove fraud

To understand the commission of a crime, authorized employees need to study the victim’s statement and consider the elements of the offense. Law enforcement officials have the right to classify the theft of property of a victim of fraudulent actions only if the following factors are present:

• there is an injured party who gave up his property due to deception;
• the offender acted according to plan, clearly understanding the consequences of his actions;
• the methods used to seize property were deception or abuse of trust;
• the offender did not apply any measures of physical or psychological pressure to the victim;
• the attacker took possession of the property and rights to it.

“To initiate a criminal case under the article fraud there must be a crime and a victim. That is, if a person takes out a loan from a bank using his own documents and, due to some circumstances, stops repaying it, then there is a civil law relationship and nothing more.”

Danilov I.N., criminal lawyer

Statute of limitations for fraud

This type of crime, like many others, has its own statute of limitations, depending on the severity of the crime and the high cost of the stolen property:

1. In case of fraud on a particularly large scale, the penalty for the crime is 10 years.
2. In case of fraudulent actions carried out by a group of persons, the statute of limitations is also 10 years.
3. When misappropriating funds in the amount of a million rubles or less, the period of time is 2 years.

If we consider the statute of limitations for a crime corresponding to Article 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, then it is possible to distinguish the following periods:

1. Part 1 – 2 years.
2. Part 2 – 6 years.
3. Part 3 – 10 years.
4. Part 4 – 10 years.
5. Part 5 – 6 years.
6. Part 6 – 10 years.
7. Part 7 – 10 years.

The term begins to count from the moment the crime is committed. The running of time limits is suspended if the suspect evades trial or investigation.

Punishment for fraud on an especially large scale

Despite the different elements of the crimes considered, they are united by the same responsibility. It consists of the following penalties, which depend on the severity of the consequences.

Liability for fraud:

• up to 10 years in prison with a fine of one million rubles;
• compensation for damage from wages for the period of serving the sentence (but not more than 3 years);
• restriction of freedom for two years.

The last two forms of liability can be applied at the discretion of the court. Not everyone knows what restriction of freedom is. In simple terms, this is a set of restrictions imposed on a person by the court.

They may relate to staying at home at a set time of day, avoiding visiting certain places and public events (Article 53 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). In addition, you should visit the local police officer at certain intervals.

In relation to fraud on an especially large scale, restriction of freedom is an additional measure of liability. Its validity period begins after the end of the main punishment.

Fraud: article of the criminal code and punishment

The text of the Criminal Code has a clear definition of the concept of fraud. Thus, this crime means the appropriation of someone else’s property or the illegal acquisition of rights to property through cunning, deception or abuse of the victim’s trust.

Fraud article

Fraud is described in Article 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. This law was created and came into force back in 1996. In total, the text of the article has seven parts, each of which describes certain circumstances of the crime committed:

1. Part 1: theft by deception or breach of trust.
2. Part 2: a crime committed by a group of persons by prior conspiracy.
3. Part 3: an atrocity committed by an official through the use of his own official position.
4. Part 4: fraud committed by a group of persons and resulting in the deprivation of a citizen’s rights to real estate.
5. Part 5: a crime involving intentional failure to fulfill contractual obligations when conducting business activities.
6. Part 6: a crime similar to the previous one, committed on a large scale.
7. Part 7: a crime similar to the previous one, resulting in particularly large damage.

In Art. 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation distinguishes the corpus delicti, consisting of an object, a subject and parties. Each of the elements are:

1. Object of the crime: social relations. Additionally, the object has the right to be a specific citizen or the right to property.
2. Subject of the crime: a person who has full legal capacity and is over 16 years of age.
3. The objective side of the crime: the appropriation of someone else's property by deception or misrepresentation.
4. The subjective side of the crime: the presence of direct intent or purpose.

Important! According to the law, fraud is considered complete if the offender receives the victim's property for his use and has the opportunity to manage it at his own discretion.

The difference between fraud and related crimes

In some situations, law enforcement agencies encounter difficulties in qualifying a specific crime, since fraud is very similar to other types of offenses.

There are six forms of theft of other people's property:

• theft;
• fraud;
• appropriation;
• embezzlement;
• robbery;
• robbery.

The main differences between fraud are the following factors:

• a specific method of taking property, for example, deception;
• the victim transfers his property to the criminal voluntarily;
• In case of fraud, there is no violence or force on the victim.

What types of fraud are most often encountered in judicial practice?

The judiciary most often considers crimes related to:

• real estate;
• failure to fulfill the terms of the contract;
• loan fraud;
• registration of insurance policies;
• credit cards;
• social payments to citizens.

Over the past few years, courts have been increasingly forced to hear cases and impose penalties for online fraud. Such cases make up about 60% of all cases.

What is the punishment for fraud?

Criminal punishment depends on the severity of the crime committed. In general, the key factors that judges use when setting a sentence are:

• number of attackers;
• the amount of damage caused;
• appearing in a real estate matter;
• the area in which the criminals committed the atrocities.

The maximum penalty is imprisonment for a period of 10 years and a fine of 1 million rubles. The types of punishment are shown in more detail in the table below:

Important! The amount of punishment for fraud depends on the scale of the crime and the presence of aggravating circumstances.

Persons committing fraud using their official position include:

1. Citizens who perform the functions of a representative of local or federal authorities on a permanent or temporary basis.
2. Citizens performing administrative, economic and regulatory functions in government agencies, local governments and municipal institutions. Also included in the second type are persons who are government officials in state-owned companies, state-owned enterprises and corporations.
3. Citizens performing managerial functions in commercial public and private organizations.

Limitation periods

For most crimes, there is a time period during which the perpetrator can be prosecuted. Its duration depends on the severity of the offense.

Large-scale fraud is no exception. Since it carries a maximum penalty of imprisonment for a term of 10 years, such a crime is classified as a serious crime (Part 4 of Article 15 of the Criminal Code).

The statute of limitations is set at 10 years from the date of commission of the crime under investigation. This segment ends with the entry into force of the court verdict. If this rule is violated, the person is exempt from existing criminal prosecution.

It happens that the attacker’s activity consisted of a number of events combined into one whole.

Let's imagine that the attacker fraudulently took money from the victim several times. In this case, time is counted from the day of the last episode.

The statute of limitations is suspended for the period when the suspect is hiding from the investigation.

He can do things like this:

• changes place of residence;
• does not contact law enforcement agencies;
• ignores the undertaking not to leave.

In all cases, the period during which these actions took place is not taken into account.

Criminal liability for fraud

The current Criminal Code contains several articles under which fraudsters can be punished. General sanctions are contained in Article 159 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation.

It lists different types of sanctions, ranging from fines to imprisonment. This or that punishment may depend on the amount of damage, the number of participants in the criminal scheme, as well as the status of the fraudster.

Criminal prosecution for fraud also depends on the object of the criminal attacks.

Thus, individual articles of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation highlight fraud with loans, in the field of insurance or entrepreneurship. People who take money from citizens with the help of modern computer technologies have not been forgotten either.

Which way does judicial practice go?

The Supreme Court gave some clarifications to lower courts. So, in Resolution No. 48 he indicated the following.

In a situation with fraud through several identical actions over different periods of time, a large or especially large amount forms the total value of the stolen property.

When a group of people was involved in a crime, to qualify the amount of damage, the value of any property stolen by each member of the educated community is summed up. In this case, the contribution of the accused in the crime is additionally taken into account.

Courts do not always impose the maximum sentence. They take into account mitigating circumstances, as well as voluntary repayment of damages. As an example, we can cite the verdict of the Oktyabrsky District Court of Samara dated September 13, 2017.

An accountant from one of the enterprises was in the dock. She embezzled money through payroll manipulation.

As a result, the court sentenced the citizen to four years of probation. At the same time, claims for compensation for all damage caused were satisfied.

There is only one way out: the courts take into account the personality of the convicted person and his cooperation with the investigation. Compensation for partially caused damage is also seen as a positive thing.

Grounds for initiating a criminal case for fraud

In order for a criminal case of fraud to be initiated and the culprit to be punished, strong evidence is needed.

There are several conditions under which you can safely file a report with the police about fraud. First of all, there must be a fact of deception or abuse of trust. Moreover, such actions must necessarily be intentional.

Next, it is necessary to have caused property damage to the victim. Not only the punishment, but also the type of responsibility depends on its size.

If the fraud was minor (within 1000 rubles), then the culprit may face administrative punishment in the form of a fine. Well, if it is large in size, then you cannot do without the protection of a criminal lawyer.

It is necessary that there is a causal connection between illegal actions and the resulting consequences. Otherwise, it may be difficult to prosecute.

Before preparing an application, it is advisable to study the articles of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation in order to correctly qualify the crime committed. The investigator or interrogator will also pay attention to this when making a decision on the fact of illegal actions.

Some questions for lawyers

The final part contains several answers to questions from people and businesses affected by fraud. Each case has its own specifics.

Developer fraud

Zinaida Konstantinovna, Moscow

I invested a million rubles in a two-room apartment in a building under construction. However, the developer went bankrupt and is under investigation on charges of fraud on an especially large scale. What should I do now?

You should write a petition addressed to the investigator to be recognized as a private prosecutor. Along with it, a civil claim is filed for the amount of damage. In this case, there is no need to pay a fee.

The issue of compensation will be decided by the court. The specific amount is indicated in the verdict.

Fraud with shares

Victor Sergeevich, Balashikha

I work as a director of a joint stock company. As a result of the actions of fraudsters, the company's securities were stolen and sold to third parties. How to determine the amount of damage caused.

Provided that the shares were further sold, the subsequent cost of the sold securities can be taken as a basis. Data on it are reflected in electronic registers.

You can also raise the issue of requesting papers with the investigator who is conducting the criminal case. Recommendations from an experienced lawyer will help.

Charges from the employer

Kristina Viktorovna, Vnukovo

I was accused of having forged signatures on checks and withdrawn a large sum from a bank account. Now the manager is threatening to file a police report against me on charges of fraud. What should I do?

The correct solution is to request copies of the checks from the bank and find out what really happened. It would be a good idea to enlist the help of an experienced lawyer.

Even at the beginning of the investigation, a specialist is able to convince of innocence. You need to fight for your interests.

Who initiates criminal cases of fraud?

It all depends on which part of the relevant article of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation the act falls under. If we are talking about Part 1 of Art. 159-159.6, then the powers of the proceedings are vested in the investigators. In all other cases, the work is carried out by police investigators (Article 151 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation).

is also important . In accordance with Art. 152 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, as a general rule, the investigation is conducted in the area where the crime was committed.

However, if the fraud is started in one place and completed in another, the territory where the criminal plan is completed is decisive. If we are talking about a criminal group that has several episodes in different places on its record, then the investigation can be carried out on the territory of the majority of crimes or the most serious of them.

We recommend! Lawyer in cases of fraud under Art. 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, Moscow and Moscow region

What to do if you are charged with large-scale fraud

You cannot be fully insured against accusations of fraud. The impetus may simply be hostile relationships. Banks often threaten with criminal prosecution of loan debtors.

Therefore, if a difficult situation arises, the following recommendations will come in handy:

1. It is important to retain written documents related to the disputed case. This also applies to messages in your email inbox.
2. If threats are received on your phone, it is advisable to record conversations.
3. When accusations are made at work, it is useful to enlist the support of colleagues.
4. When you call an investigator, you should immediately contact a lawyer.

The importance of legal assistance in criminal cases can hardly be overestimated. The main thing is to quickly find a qualified lawyer. He will outline the tactics for all further actions.

Author: Oleg Roslyakov, source

How to write a statement to initiate a criminal case for fraud?

The legislation does not define a strict form of application to initiate a criminal case under the article of fraud. Therefore, the victim can write it in any form convenient for him.

In the header you should write the police department where the document is addressed, as well as full information about the victim.

After the name of the appeal (“statement”) there should be a request to bring the guilty person to criminal liability under the relevant article of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. Next, it is necessary to describe in as much detail as possible the circumstances under which the crime occurred. The emphasis should be on intent and the amount of damage caused.

The application is completed with a signature and date, without which it simply will not be considered. It is necessary to select applications for contacting the police. For example, if a fraudster borrowed money without intending to repay it, then you will need a copy of the corresponding receipt.

When you have become a victim via the Internet, you can take screenshots of the relevant pages. It should be remembered that the presence of applications can speed up the investigation of a criminal case of fraud.

In what cases is it used?

Famous Art. 159 part 5 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation and Art. 159.5 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation have one basis - fraud, only in the first case anyone can suffer from the actions of a fraudster, and in the second - only insurance companies. The article is relatively new, it was introduced by Federal Law dated November 29, 2012 N 207-FZ (Federal Law) and is a kind of revision to Article 159.

Crimes falling under 159.5 are always classified as economic. They can affect any area of ​​insurance: auto insurance, life and health, property insurance, and so on.

As a rule, the most common type of fraud is the concealment of one’s own guilt in the situation that led to the receipt of insurance funds or the deliberate creation of a situation in order to obtain insurance payments. How exactly the scam will be carried out in this case does not matter.

The investigation and the court will assess that the insurance company suffered significant damage:

• because of the criminal acts of one citizen;
• because of a group of people.

For the article of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, insurance fraud, there is no minimum threshold when the damage would be considered insignificant.

PNF (Pension Fund of the Russian Federation) is also considered an insurance organization. Any pensioner who receives a pension more than he is entitled to, but does not go to the Pension Fund for recalculation and return of the excess, can become a fraudster.

Judicial proceedings

Although the case law is extensive, there are two most likely outcomes for this article.
If one citizen is involved in a criminal case, money has been received, the deception has been exposed, the judge will proceed from the complexity of the proof process. To obtain insurance, a person drew up false documents and initiated insurance cases, then the citizen will be punished by restriction of freedom if, after the initiation of insurance cases, health allows.

Provided that the scam was simple, the subject of the crime will be awarded a fine. A citizen may be financially liable for the misappropriation of health insurance if he does not prove the confusion that occurred due to the fault of the medical personnel who registered the patient.

Defrauding a company by a group of people is usually punishable by both a fine and restriction of freedom, taking into account the severity of the action of each participant. Moreover, if a group of persons used people who are not members of the group to receive insurance payments, then the sentence will be aggravated in accordance with the criminal actions that were committed by the group of persons in relation to other citizens.

If, during the deception of the insurance company, damage was caused to the property or health of a citizen who was originally a member of a criminal group, then proceedings will be conducted under only one article.

Depending on the amount for which the fraud was committed, Article 159.5 has a statute of limitations.

It is counted from the moment the crime was committed:

• 2 years for minor severity;
• 6 years for moderate severity;
• 10 years for a felony;
• 15 for especially serious cases.

The severity is determined by the amounts stolen.

This is the third option for the development of events, in which a certain period of time passes from the moment the crime was committed and there will be no punishment for it, unless, of course, amendments are made to Article 78 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation indicating the opposite.