Business Fraud

Business fraud can affect almost anyone, from business owners and professionals to consumers. Breaches of contract or warranty, false representations, and almost any other type of transactional fraud fall under the broad category of “business fraud.” Our team of business and commercial attorneys represent both plaintiffs and defendants in business fraud litigation. Our Chicago business fraud lawyers carefully review the facts and legal theories and work to expose acts of fraud in order to provide diligent and aggressive representation for our clients.

Forms of Business Fraud

Business fraud may occur in any type of business or commercial transaction:

• Business-to-Business: One business may commit fraud or misrepresent material facts in a negotiation or transaction with another business. This could include routine transactions, such as a vendor-to-customer relationship, or special transactions like the sale or merger of a business.
• Business-to-Consumer: A business may breach warranties or make false representations in a transaction with a consumer, or a consumer may defraud a business. An extensive body of law governs allegedly fraudulent and deceptive practices that victimize consumers, but businesses can be the victims of consumer-driven scams as well.
• Consumer-to-Consumer: Individuals engaged in financial or commercial transactions may commit fraudulent acts, such as in the sale of residential real estate or goods like an automobile.

Business Fraud Examples

Most examples of business fraud could occur in any of the types of transactions described above. Consumers often have more specific protections under the law, so businesses must often rely on common-law claims such as breach of contract. Some examples of business fraud include:

• Consumer fraud, particularly alleged violations of deceptive trade practice statutes.
• Breach of contract.
• Breach of express or implied warranty.
• Fraud in the sale of a business or franchise.
• Investment fraud, such as misrepresentations regarding the financial projections for an investment.
• Financial fraud, including conversion or misappropriation of funds, forgery, or various forms of wire fraud.
• Disputes between business partners in an informal partnership, formal partnership, or joint venture.
• Disputes among shareholders in a closely-held or family corporation.
• Disputes among members in a limited liability company.
• Fraudulent advertising and marketing schemes.
• False representations about goods or services offered for sale.
• Mortgage fraud, such as fraudulent or deceptive offers to refinance or service a mortgage.
• Real estate fraud, including false representations regarding ownership of real property and failure to disclose known defects in the title or physical condition of real property.

Our Experience and Approach

Serving clients in Chicago and beyond, our business fraud attorneys conduct a meticulous review of the facts of each case to find critical evidence and winning theories of recovery. This approach has yielded powerful results in many of our cases. We retain the services of certified fraud examiners, business appraisers, forensic accountants, and other experts in the field of fraud investigation. These experts root out fraud, locate missing assets, and build the evidence needed to provide our clients with the most effective and comprehensive protection possible.

Lubin Austermuehle, P.C.’s Chicago business fraud attorneys have offices in Elmhurst and Chicago, Illinois. We represent clients throughout Illinois, including the Chicago area and DuPage County, as well as Indiana and Wisconsin. To schedule a consultation with a business fraud lawyer in Chicago, contact us via email, at 630-333-0333.

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