- The difference between a divorce and an annulment - April 15, 2024
- Hidden costs to be aware of when buying a house - April 3, 2024
- The rules about legally transporting a firearm in Canada - April 1, 2024
By LegalMatters Staff • Although “wire fraud” is an American term not found in our Criminal Code, that does not mean the offence does not occur in Canada.
The crime involves the transfer of money from an individual or organization to a person using telecommunications (the phone) or electronic communications (emails or text messages).
“These payments can be difficult to track and recover because the funds are considered to be the property of the recipient once the transfer is final, which happens in seconds,” says Ottawa criminal lawyer Céline Dostaler.
She explains that someone representing himself as a company employee will provide wire transfer instructions (usually via email) to pay a large sum for a transaction. Believing it is a legitimate email, the victim will electronically transfer the funds to the fraudulent account.
Once the crime is discovered, there is often a dispute about who bears responsibility for the financial loss, says Dostaler.
“The law on liability in wire transfer fraud is developing, with victims or firms often being held liable if they failed to act prudently in detecting and preventing the fraud,” she says.
The penalty for any type of fraud depends on the amount involved, Dostaler says, explaining that If the fraud was worth more than $5,000, the offender faces up to 14 years in prison.
“If the fraud was worth less than $5,000, the maximum penalty drops to two years in jail,” she says.
To secure a conviction, the Crown prosecutor must prove that the accused committed an intentional act to defraud the victim and those actions resulted in the victim’s financial loss, Dostaler says.
“A criminal lawyer may be able to argue that the lines are sometimes blurred between legitimate business practices and what is a criminal action, or that the accused made an honest mistake,” she explains. “Since the Crown’s evidence will depend on financial records and documents, a lawyer can analyze those for inconsistencies, which may weaken the prosecution’s case.”
