Fraud, Art. 159 of the Criminal Code: punishment, comments. The essence of the fraud law

Fraud (Article 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation) is the theft of property belonging to another person or the acquisition of the right to it. Crime can be committed through abuse of trust or deception. Let us consider in more detail Art. 159 of the Criminal Code, sentences that may be imposed for this act.

Part 1 of Art. 159 of the Criminal Code

The punishment for the above crimes is as follows:

Fine up to 120 thousand rubles. Or in the amount of income / salary of the subject for the period up to a year.

1. Up to 360 hours. Mandatory work.
2. Up to 2 years. restrictions of freedom.
3. Up to a year correctional work.
4. Up to 4 months arrest.
5. Forced labor up to 2 years.
6. Imprisonment for the same term.

Qualifying Compositions

They are provided for in hours. 2-4 of Art. 159 of the Criminal Code. The term and amount of fines for such acts are increased. When committing a crime by prior conspiracy by several persons or with causing significant harm to the victim, the following sanctions are established:

1. Fine up to 300 thousand rubles. or equal to the income / salary of the entity for a period of up to 2 years.
2. Up to 5 years. forced labor. Additionally may be assigned restriction of freedom up to a year.
3. Up to 480 hours of compulsory work.
4. Imprisonment up to 5 years. Additionally, it is possible to limit the freedom of the subject up to a year.
5. Correctional work up to 2 years.

For fraud carried out by an organized group or in amounts considered especially large, as well as entailing the deprivation of the rights of the victim to a dwelling, imprisonment of up to 10 liters is provided. Additionally, the court may impose a fine of up to 1 million rubles. or in the amount of the subject's income for a period of up to 3 liters. or restriction of liberty up to 2 years.

Special composition

It is formulated in Part 3 of Art. 159 of the Criminal Code. When committing the act specified in part 1 using his official position or on a large scale, the subject is threatened:

1. A fine of 100-500 thousand p. or in the amount of salary / income for 1-3 g.
2. Forced work up to 5 liters. Additionally, the guilty freedom may be limited to 2 liters.
3. Imprisonment up to 6 liters. In addition, a fine of up to 80 thousand rubles may be exacted from the perpetrator. or in the amount of income for the period up to six months or its freedom may be limited to 1.5 liters.

Comments on Art. 159 of the Criminal Code

To qualify the act under this article, one should be guided by the explanations of the Resolution of the Plenum of the Armed Forces of December 27, 2007. It describes the features of acts falling under Art. 159 of the Criminal Code, the practice of criminal proceedings. As an object of encroachment, except directly, property, rights to it may also act. As a legal category, they are fixed in different documents. For example, it can be a will, a power of attorney to receive any valuables, insurance policy, securities. Crime under Art. 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation will be considered completed from the moment of illegal receipt by the subject of such documents. It does not matter if the attacker managed to take possession of the corresponding property in money or in kind. The offender has direct intent and selfish intentions. The subject can be a 16-year-old sane citizen.

Objective part

Criminal case under Art. 159 of the Criminal Code has specifics. It is expressed in the way the act is committed. Unlike many other crimes that are carried out by operational (physical) methods, the way the fraudster acts is informational in nature or builds on a trusting relationship that has developed between the victim and the criminal. As methods by which fraud is carried out, Art. 159 of the Criminal Code considers abuse of existing trust or fraud. These methods also characterize the qualitative signs of crime. Undoubtedly, fraud itself is not yet a seizure of property and its conversion in favor of the attacker.However, as noted in legal publications, these methods as part of fraud act as additional actions to achieve the main goal. Currently, crimes are distinguished as a form of theft and as an act committed in the field of entrepreneurship. In the latter case, either the action or the entity itself should be associated with commercial activity.

Withdrawal process

In the commentary to Art. 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, this issue is covered in sufficient detail. In the crime in question, the main action is the process of taking certain property from the possession of the legal owner. It is caused by a breach of trust or deception. These interrelated acts form the objective side of Art. 159 of the Criminal Code. The specificity of the crime in question is that, outwardly, there is a voluntary alienation of the property by the rightful owner himself and its transfer to the attacker. The latter, using special methods, does not directly seize the subject of assault. However, through the abuse of trust and the provision of false information, the criminal falsifies the will of the victim. As a result, the attacker achieves the set goal of the free withdrawal of property.

Cheating

Its specificity is explained in the resolution of the Plenum of the Armed Forces. Deception may consist in the informed reporting of false information, in silence of the true facts, or in deliberate actions. The latter, for example, include the provision of counterfeit products or another subject of the transaction, the use of fraudulent methods in the process of payment for services / goods, imitation of payment, etc. Deception in any case is aimed at misleading the victim. In this case, false information that is reported in case of fraud or is silent, may relate to various circumstances. For example, they may relate to legal events and facts, the value of property, its quality, personality, authority, intentions of the offender.

Trust abuse

It consists in using the established good relations with the victim or a person authorized to make decisions on the disposal of property (including transferring it to third parties). Confidence can be determined by different circumstances. For example, it could be family relationships special official position of the criminal. Abuse is also manifested in the assumption of obligations by a person who has no intention to fulfill them. The goal in this case is the gratuitous illegal circulation of property in their own favor or for other persons or the acquisition of rights to it. For example, under Art. 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, such actions as receiving a down payment by a citizen for the performance of any work / service, a loan, an advance payment for the supply of products, if the subject did not intend to repay the debt or otherwise pay off his obligations.

The moment of the end of the crime

On the issue of its definition in practice, there are several opinions. The Resolution of the Plenum clarifies that fraud committed through abuse of trust or fraud is considered completed from the moment the property was entered into illegal use by an attacker or other persons. That is, these entities got a real opportunity to dispose of the subject of abuse at their discretion. If the crime is committed in the form of an appeal in favor of the perpetrator of property rights, then it will be considered completed from the moment when the perpetrator has a legally secured opportunity to take over or dispose of other people's wealth as their own. For example, this may be the end of the state registration of the law, the date of conclusion of the agreement, the day the court decision comes into effect, and so on.

Variety

One of the forms of fraud is the unlawful gratuitous circulation in personal favor of goods received in accordance with a rental contract. It is also mercenary to receive credit in retail stores without the intention to make established payments for them.

Separation from theft

Fraud has a number of differences from this crime, although fraud can also be used in it. However, when stolen, it acts as a means by which an attacker penetrates the premises, housing and secretly steals property. In this case, deception acts as a condition facilitating the subsequent withdrawal of material values. In this regard, during the theft, he does not stipulate the transfer of property into the possession of the criminal. In fraud, deception is the main sign of the transfer of material values ​​to the subject who turns them in their own favor. Theft is characterized by a secret theft of property. Outwardly, fraud looks like a voluntary transfer of values ​​to a criminal. In addition, an important sign is the receipt of property in the property or title ownership. Selfish possession of an object without empowering a person with the appropriate powers will act as theft, but not as fraud.

Use of official position

It acts as a qualifying attribute. The subjects in this case can be not only employees of municipal / state structures, but also employees of commercial enterprises. The manifestations of fraud using the official position are various. When qualifying, the main task is to establish the fact that the subject committed crimes by using his authority.

Deprivation of rights to premises

This is another sign established in the qualified corpus delicti. In this case, it is assumed not only the right of ownership, but also rent or social hiring. In this case, it is necessary to correctly understand the definition of residential premises. Here, when qualifying, use the note to Art. 139 UK.