Fraud

“ Fraud in law consists in acts which, though not fraudulently intended, yet as their tendency is to defraud creditors, if they vest the property of the debtor in his grantee, they are void for legal fraud, which is deemed tantamount to actual fraud, full evidence of fraud, and fraudulent in themselves, the policy of the law making the acts illegal. ”

“ It is good between the parties, and good as to all the world, unless it is liable to impeachment for fraud; which is of two kinds, fraud in fact, and fraud in law. The first is an intention or design to defraud, delay, injure or prevent creditors from receiving their just debts, by a sale, deed, settlement or agreement, by which the property of a debtor is withdrawn, or attempted to be withdrawn, from their reach. ”

“ Fraud is deception; it is inducing the other party to believe something which is not true, and, by inducing him to believe that, influencing his action. The ordinary way in which fraud is manifested is by misrepresentations. A purchase or sale of stock or of goods may be induced by fraud. A loan may be obtained from a bank by fraud, that is, by misrepresentation of material facts which influence the other side to act. ”

“ It is too obvious for comment that in all this the only use of the words fraud and fraudulent is to stigmatize acts which are adverse to the plaintiff's view of his own rights. But there is not a syllable which defines an act fraudulent in nature, or done or performed under the influence of corrupt motives, or by corrupt means, by the defendant or by any of the land officers who have had to deal with his claim. ”

“ The so-called "blue sky" legislation is a well meaning, if partly futile, attempt to meet an existing evil in connection with the sale of corporate securities. We shall find later that five elements are necessary to constitute the action of fraud or deceit: (1) a false representation of a material fact; (2) made with knowledge of its falsity; (3) with intent that it be acted upon; (4) that it be acted upon; (5) damage follows. The courts have almost universally held that a mere statement of opinion does not give rise to a cause of action for fraud, whereas a mistatement of fact does. ”

“ Buller, J. The foundation of this action is fraud and deceit in the defendant, and damage to the plaintiffs. And a question is, whether an action thus founded can be sustained in a court of law. Fraud without damage, or damage without fraud, gives no cause of action; but where these two concur, an action lies. Per Croke, J., 3 Bulst. 95. But it is contended that this was a bare, naked lie; that, as no collusion with Falch is charged, it does not amount to a fraud; and, if there were any fraud, the nature of it is not stated. ”

“ A rule of evidence adopted by the courts as a protection against fraud and false swearing, would, as was said in regard to the analogous rule known as the statute of frauds, become the instrument of the very fraud it was intended to prevent, if there did not exist some authority to correct the universality of its application. ”

“ But in the event of a purchaser presenting himself who had a fuller knowledge or might conceivably act as an inspector and report the fraud to the judge, there would be a just half shekel weight in the bag, a full cubit rule hidden behind the counter, a hin or an ephah measure of legal dimensions within easy reach. You may smile at such primitive methods of deception, but it requires many generations for a civilized society to elaborate commercial fraud on the large scale. ”

“ The question of fraud or no fraud, is one necessarily compounded of fact and of law; and without a correct and precise knowledge of the facts from which the legal conclusion should be deduced, it is not easy to perceive how any legal conclusion can be reached. ”

“ So fraud is in essence the exception. By fraud we mean conscious wrongdoing, an intention to cheat or be dishonest. The decision of the department head, absent fraudulent conduct, must stand under the plain meaning of the contract. ”

“ In this sense fraud is commonly opposed to malice in its popular sense. I act fraudulently when the motive of my wrongdoing is to derive some material gain for myself, whether by way of deception, force, or otherwise. ”

“ As we showed in the second paragraph of this opinion, the substantive crime here charged is the conspiracy to defraud the United States, punishable as a conspiracy. The fraud is an essential element. There can be no doubt that this crime, denounced by § 371, covers nonpecuniary or nonproperty frauds. ”

“ In fact, the gravamen of the offense consists in the evil design with which the misapplication is made, and a count which should omit the words 'willfully,' etc., and 'with intent to defraud,' would be clearly bad. While it is entirely true that an allegation of fraud is insufficient, either in an indictment or in a bill in equity, without giving the particulars of the fraud, an intent to defraud is only to be gathered by the jury from all the facts and circumstances of the case. ”

“ It is the settled doctrine of this court that 'fraud' in the act of congress defining the debts from which a bankrupt is not relieved by a discharge in bankruptcy means 'positive fraud, or fraud in fact, involving moral turpitude or intentional wrong, as does embezzlement, and not implied fraud, or fraud in law, which may exist without the imputation of bad faith or immorality.' Neal v. ”

“ To charge fraud against the respondents under such circumstances is cruel, irrational, preposterous. Their conduct cannot be tortured or twisted into fraud. As well undertake to spin sunbeams into cables, or extract oil from Massachusetts granite. ”

“ His ‘friend’ by fraud obtained all the man had, and then, with malignant purpose, defamed the female to his dupe, having first reduced the man to beggary. All this, working on the barber, nearly upset his reason, and the victim raged in his agony, and the financier laughed at him, and fed sumptuously, daily; and, having previously obtained by double fraud, a signature to the effect that robbery was a legal loan, gloated over the misery he had caused, and denounced the victim himself had made. ”

“ On the other hand, if the fraud itself be secret in its nature, and such that its existence cannot be readily ascertained, or if there be fiduciary relations between the parties, there need be no evidence of a fraudulent concealment other than that implied from the transaction itself. ”

“ Contrary to the majority, I do not read the Court of Appeals' en banc opinion as holding that either § 206 (1) of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, 54 Stat. 847 (prohibiting the employment of 'any device, scheme, or artifice to defraud any client or prospective client') , or § 206 (2) , 54 Stat. 847 (prohibiting the engaging 'in any transaction, practice, or course of business which operates as a fraud or deceit upon any client or prospective client') , is confined by traditional common law concepts of fraud and deceit. ”

“ To entitle themselves to relief, the complainants must prove fraud and damage; or, to state the principle less abstractly, they must show that their agent disposed of what he was employed to sell, for less than its value, and that he did this fraudulently. ”

“ If the person against whom fraud is alleged, should be proved to have been guilty of it in any number of instances; still if the particular act sought to be avoided be not shown to be tainted with fraud, it cannot be affected by those other frauds, unless in some way or other it be connected with or form a part of them. ”

“ Charges of fraud are easily made, and lapse of time affords no reason for relaxing the rules of evidence or treating mere suspicion as proof. If a defendant can be compelled to open settled accounts, to explain or prove each item, after a lapse of near thirty years, by general allegations of fraud,-if the fraud can be proved by his inability to elucidate past transactions after so great a length of time, or by showing some slips of recollection, or by contradicting him in some collateral facts by the frail recollection of other witnesses,-no man's property or reputation would be safe. ”

“ At law, defendant may plead that the judgment against his testator was by fraud and covin. If a decree was by fraud and covin, the party may be relieved against it; not by rehearing or appeal, but by original bill. By Lord Hardwicke, chancellor. Bradish v. Gee, Amb., 229.
'Equity has so great an abhorrence of fraud, that it will set aside its own decrees, if founded thereon.' 13 Vin. Abr., Fraud (Aa.) , pl. 9, 10, p. 543.
'Equity will never countenance demands of an unfair nature; in this case it was to have an allowance for attending at auctions to enhance the price of goods ”

“ We have discovered cases of peonage and others have been brought to our attention, we have examined into many and obtained indictments and convictions, but how many cases are in existence is the same kind of a question as though the crime were pension fraud, or counterfeiting, or public land fraud, or fraud on the revenue. ”

“ Refined policy ever has been the parent of confusion,—and ever will be so, as long as the world endures. Plain good intention, which is as easily discovered at the first view as fraud is surely detected at last, is, let me say, of no mean force in the government of mankind. ”

“ The question before us, then, is whether, in view of the state of the evidence upon the defense that the notes were procured by fraud, the trial court erred in directing a verdict for the plaintiff. It is apparent that there was evidence sufficient to go to the jury that the signatures of some of the defendants had been obtained by means of fraudulent representations. Upon this point, the supreme court of the territory said: 'The defense, as we have seen, was principally that the signing of the notes was procured by fraud. ”

“ It is mistake to suppose that in stating the facts which constitute a fraud, where relief is sought in a bill in equity, all the evidence which may be adduced to prove that fraud must be recited in the bill. It is sufficient if the main facts or incidents which constitute the fraud against which relief is desired shall be fairly stated, so as to put the defendant upon his guard, and apprise him of what answer may be required of him. ”

“ If an agent defrauds the person with whom he is dealing, the principal, not having authorized or participated in the wrong, may, no doubt, rescind, when he discovers the fraud, on the terms of making complete restitution. ”

“ Now, it frequently has happened in my experience that gentlemen desiring to find purchasers for securities or property of little value have so carelessly mingled statements of fact with opinions, laudations, and prophecies as to their goods, that juries have said that they were guilty of fraud in so doing. ”

“ The principle laid down in the charge of the judge, that one who claims to have been drawn into a fraudulent purchase must exercise care and vigilance to discover the fraud, and must be prompt in repudiating his contract on the ground of such fraud, is a sound one. ”

“ In the rulers.
how can the people be otherwise than fraudulent? If their strength is insufficient, they will have recourse to fraud. If their knowledge is insufficient, they will have recourse to deceit. If their means are insufficient, they will steal. ”

“ Fraud and falsehood are his weak and treacherous allies; and he lurks trembling in the dark, dreading every ray of light, lest it should discover him, and give him up to shame and punishment. ”

“ But there are tricks and tricks, and what will be chuckled over by some businessmen as “a good stroke of business” may, if submitted to a jury, be pronounced a fraud, and it appears to me that people are becoming more exacting every day in their fine art dealings. ”

“ After paying the attorneys' fees and court costs, the surplus is not enough to pay the debt secured in full.
In view, therefore, of the concurrence of both courts in finding that no actual fraud was intended, we shall pass at once to the question of constructive fraud.
Fraud in law is predicated upon the fact that the assignor took from the assignees the agreement above set out, and did not file it with the clerk of the court, as he did the assignment itself. ”

“ There was no evidence of fraud, unless the facts which have been referred to justify the inference of fraud. We are at a loss to understand how fraudulent conduct can justly be imputed to a pledgee when it appears that whatever was done in executing the power of sale was on e in full compliance with the terms of the pledge, and when there is no evidence that any unconscionable advantage was taken of the pledgeor or his creditors. ”

“ Fraud destroys the validity of every thing into which it enters. It affects fatally even the most solemn judgments and decrees. Bankrupt Act, sect. 35; 1 Story's Eq., sect. 252; Freeman on Judgments, sect. 486.
Whenever fraud is perpetrated by one party to the injury of another, the offender is liable. Paisley v. Freeman, 3 T. R. 51; Benton v. Pratt, 2 Wend. 385. Here the jury have found the facts charged by the assignee. This is conclusive against the defendants with respect to any claim upon the fund.
The last assignment relates to alleged errors of the court in matters of practice. ”

“ The sixty-sixth section limits the forfeiture to the case of fraud in making up the invoice prices below the actual cost of the goods, but leaves the time and place of detection unrestricted. Under this section, whether the discovery of the fraud be made by the custom-house officers while the goods are passing inspection, or afterwards, is immaterial. ”

“ In determining whether further regulations are reasonably necessary to prevent frauds against our revenue it is not conclusive, at least, to say that frauds against the revenue under the existing system have not been discovered. The question is, Are the regulations such as to provide proper safeguards against fraud, or are they such as to make fraud easy to those who have the disposition to commit it? ”