Evasion of liability by deception was a statutory offense in England and Wales, and separately in Northern Ireland, committed by using deception to induce a creditor to remit, defer or forgo a debt, or to exempt someone from a liability they would otherwise owe. It was created in England and Wales by the Theft Act 1978 to resolve ambiguities in section 16 of the Theft Act 1968, and in Northern Ireland by article 4 of the Theft Northern Ireland Order 1978. Both versions of the offense were repealed on 15 January 2007 when the Fraud Act 2006 came into force.
Facts
Classification CodeTheft Act 1978 (England and Wales) 1 Typical PenaltyUp to five years' imprisonment (Northern Ireland provision, since repealed) 1 Elements of OffenseBy deception, inducing a creditor to remit a liability, in whole or part, or to wait for payment or to forgo payment 1 Jurisdiction VariationNorthern Ireland had its own separate version, created by article 4 of the Theft (Northern Ireland) Order 1978 1 Classification
Offense GradeMinor or Summary Offense 1 Connections
Has Offense Grade
Entity-backed identity for the offense-grade enum value this offense already carries, resolved to a crime concept by an explicit value-to-entity map (phase 3 bucket conversion, docs\design_entity_backed_browse_buckets_20260928.md). The offense-grade fact itself stays on the offense unchanged.
In the Other Atlases
- Also in Geography Atlas: Europe, found in there.
Sources
1. Evasion of liability by deception, Wikipedia
Legislative history, England and Wales
This offence was created by the Theft Act 1978.
Description of the offence, first limb
induce a creditor to remit a liability
Northern Ireland penalty
imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years
Legislative history, Northern Ireland
This offence was created by article 4 of the Theft (Northern Ireland) Order 1978
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