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To: Alberta's Child
Suppose my name is Albert S. Child and I earn an annual salary of $50,000. I go to a Lamborghini dealership to buy a car, and I tell the sales representative that my annual income is $25 million. I fill out a purchase contract as John Q. Smith, pay $250,000 cash for a car, and drive it off the lot. Did I defraud the car dealership?

That's not an analogous example. A better example is this: Suppose I apply for membership to a prestigious club that requires not only money, but also a certain pedigree. On the application I falsely claim that I have a net worth of $4 billion, a BS in engineering from MIT, an MBA from Wharton, sit on the board of directors of several publicly traded corporations, hold multiple patents, and was the CEO of a small biotech company that I sold for billions of dollars -- all supported by false and fraudulent documentation. The club, relying upon my misrepresentations, offers me a membership, which I gladly accept, and pay the $250,000 initiation fee and $50,000 annual dues with my life's savings from a small inheritance and a second mortgage on my raised ranch. Six months later, one of the club members catches me working the night shift stocking shelves at Walmart, and seeks to revoke my club membership on the grounds that I misrepresented myself on the application. I respond, "What's the big deal, I paid the fees." Did I defraud the club?

24 posted on 05/07/2020 9:05:14 AM PDT by Labyrinthos
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To: Labyrinthos
That's a good example. I'd say you DID NOT defraud the club.

To make my case, let's look at this from the standpoint of a civil lawsuit: If the club wanted to sue me for fraud, would they win?

I'm not even a lawyer, but I can say with absolute certainty that not only is the answer "NO!" ... the case would be tossed out of court long before it went to trial for one simple reason: The club has no legal standing to file a claim because they cannot demonstrate any harm they've suffered as a result of my misrepresentations. Not only that ... but they've actually GAINED $300,000 from me.

25 posted on 05/07/2020 9:10:35 AM PDT by Alberta's Child ("And somewhere in the darkness ... the gambler, he broke even.")
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