Obtaining Property by Deception

Obtaining property by deception was a statutory offense in England and Wales, and separately in Northern Ireland, committed when a person dishonestly obtained property belonging to another by deception, intending to permanently deprive the other of it. Under section 15 of the Theft Act 1968, obtaining covered acquiring ownership, possession or control of property, including obtaining it for someone else or helping someone else obtain or keep it, and the offense required proof of dishonesty as a separate element from the deception itself, which had to operate on a human mind. Created by the Theft Act 1968 to replace the earlier offense of obtaining by false pretenses under the Larceny Act 1916, and mirrored in Northern Ireland by the Theft Act Northern Ireland Order 1969, the offense was repealed in both jurisdictions on 15 January 2007 when the Fraud Act 2006 took effect.