Fraud & Consumer Litigation
“The more laws and order are made prominent, the more thieves and robbers there will be.” Lao Tzu , from "Tao Te Ching," 600 BC-531 BC
Fraud is a legal term that defines what occurs when a person lies, cheats and/or steals to gain something of value from another person. The legal definition of fraud is
“All multifarious means which human ingenuity can devise, and which are resorted to by one individual to get an advantage over another by false suggestions or suppression of the truth. It includes all surprises, tricks, cunning or dissembling, and any unfair way which another is cheated.” Source: Black’s Law Dictionary, 5th ed., by Henry Campbell Black, West Publishing Co., St. Paul, Minnesota, 1979.
Fraud doesn’t always involve money. Sometimes, it involves services or products. It occurs as a result of an elaborate ruse intended to deceive you. It occurs when a person fails to fully disclose facts to you for the purpose of enticing you to make an agreement or buy a product. It occurs when a person remains silent, knowing or intending that you will interpret the silence to mean something it does not. Too often, in our everyday business dealings, both personal and professional, we are victims of fraud. Unscrupulous people lie, cheat and steal all the time, for their own benefit, and often with no repercussions under the criminal laws.
The Spencer Law firm represents people who are victims of fraud in all the many arenas in which it occurs: (1) Consumer fraud by merchants;(2) insurance fraud; (3) securities fraud; (4) fraudulent inducement; (5) fraud in the performance of contracts; and (6) fraud that occurs in the course of committing other illegal acts like interfering with business relationships. The list is virtually endless. Over the course of their careers, our attorneys have fought small battles and large battles. We’ve fought small companies and multi-national corporations, utilizing all legal tools at our disposal, including, but not limited to the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act, the Langham Act and other statutory authorities and common law rules.
Marl Twain said it best, “A lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes.” So, if you have been a victim of fraud, the quicker you take action, the better chance you have of preserving evidence, like the fresh recollection of witnesses to testify on your behalf.
