The Crime of Fraud in Jordanian Law: Elements and Proof

One of the most frequently asked questions in financial cases is: "Is what happened to me fraud, theft, or breach of trust?" The question is not academic; it determines whether the conduct is prosecuted criminally, before which court, what penalty to expect, and what kind of proof is required. Many injured parties lose their cases simply because they were filed under the wrong legal characterization.

This guide gives a practical picture of the crime of fraud in the Jordanian Penal Code No. 16 of 1960 and its amendments, with a clear distinction between it and similar financial crimes, its modern forms in online, real estate and investment fraud, and the evidence the injured party needs to support the complaint.

1. The Legal Definition of Fraud

Fraud is inducing the victim to hand over movable or immovable property to the offender, or to another person, through the use of fraudulent means or false names or capacities, or by any other means that deceives the victim and creates in their mind an illusory reality on which they base their decision to hand over the property.

What distinguishes fraud is that the victim hands over the property of their own will, but a will that is flawed by deception. This is the essential difference from theft and breach of trust, as we will see.

The provisions in the chapter on crimes against property in the Penal Code (around Article 417 and following, under the current numbering) regulate the crime of fraud and its penalties. The penalty varies according to the gravity of the act, the value of the property, and the status of the offender and the victim.

2. The Elements of the Crime of Fraud

The crime rests on three elements:

The material element (actus reus): the fraudulent conduct

The offender must use one of the following means:

Using fraudulent means, that is, arranging false facts and creating staged circumstances to convince the victim of an illusory reality (such as setting up a fictitious company, forging documents, or creating a false appearance of wealth).
Using a false name, claiming the identity of another person or of a person who does not exist.
Using a false capacity, claiming a capacity the offender does not hold (doctor, lawyer, engineer, public official, agent of a particular company) to gain the victim's trust.
Disposing of property not owned by the offender, such as selling real property the offender does not own.

A mere lie or simple misleading is not enough; there must be fraudulent activity prepared in such a way as to mislead a reasonably careful person.

The mental element (mens rea): criminal intent and the intention to appropriate

The offender must know that the means used is false, be aware that the property is being handed over on the basis of this lie, and intend to appropriate the property or benefit from it without returning it.

The result: handing over the property

The property must actually pass from the victim to the offender (or to whomever the offender designates). The crime is not established if the victim discovers the lie before handing over the property and refuses. In that case another offense (attempted fraud) may be established without the original crime being completed.

3. Distinguishing Fraud from Theft and Breach of Trust: A Comparison Table

Point of comparison	Fraud	Theft	Breach of trust
How does the property reach the offender?	Handed over by the victim's will (but a flawed will)	Taken without the victim's knowledge	Reaches the offender lawfully as a trust or deposit, then is appropriated
The essential means	Deception	Taking by stealth	Breaching the trust granted
The victim's consent	Present but mistaken	Absent	Present in the original handover, absent in the disposal
Criminal intent	Knowledge of the deception + intention to appropriate	Intention to take with the aim of appropriation	Intention to seize after a lawful relationship
Example	Selling real property the offender does not own	Taking a phone from someone else's pocket	Renting a car and not returning it

This distinction matters in practice, because:

In theft, proof rests on negating the victim's consent.
In fraud, proof rests on proving the lie and the fraudulent means.
In breach of trust, proof rests on proving the existence of an original lawful relationship (agency, deposit, employment contract) and then the offender's departure from its limits; this is the form governed by Articles 422 and 423 of the Penal Code as the offense of breach of trust.

4. Why Legal Characterization Is Not a Mechanical Process

The difference between fraud, theft and breach of trust looks clear in the table above, but reality is far more complex than rules that can be applied mechanically. A single financial incident may be characterized as more than one crime depending on the sequence of events, the nature of the prior relationship between the parties, how the money was handed over, the timing of the lie, and the documents that accompanied the transaction. A money transfer may look like fraud to one person and breach of trust to another, depending on whether the offender initially received the sum as an agent or partner and then disposed of it, or lured the victim into making the transfer through false claims.

This characterization is what the Public Prosecutor and the court decide on, and it is the center of the debate between the prosecution and the defense. An error in characterization on the complainant's side may mean the complaint is dismissed at the outset, and on the defense side may mean conceding a crime that did not occur. For this reason, many successful fraud cases begin from the moment the criminal report or claim is written, not from the moment of pleading.

5. Modern Forms of the Crime of Fraud

Fraud methods have evolved with the development of communication and transactions. The most widespread forms in Jordan:

Online fraud

Using email, text messages or social media to impersonate a bank, a shipping company or an official body in order to lure the victim and push them to transfer money. These forms are governed by the provisions of the Cybercrime Law No. 17 of 2023, in addition to the fraud provision in the Penal Code, and the penalty is aggravated in certain cases.

(For more details, see the cybercrime guide.)

Real estate fraud

Selling real property not owned by the offender, selling the same property to more than one buyer, or using expired or forged powers of attorney to complete the sale. These forms often intersect with the crime of criminal forgery, so the offender is prosecuted for both crimes.

Investment fraud

Promoting fictitious projects or projects with exaggerated returns, or companies with a claimed activity in trading digital currencies or forex without a license, in order to lure investors. When the sums reach large levels, the Central Bank intervenes with powers to shut down the activity in parallel with the criminal prosecution.

Bank and cheque fraud

Using bounced cheques as a tool of fraud (and not merely issuing a cheque without sufficient funds, which has its own treatment). Submitting forged documents to obtain loans or credit cards is also considered fraud.

Impersonating an official

Claiming the capacity of an investigator, a security officer, a tax official or a municipal employee to obtain money from citizens. The penalty is aggravated in this form because of the breach of public trust in state institutions that it involves.

6. The Nature of Proof in Fraud Cases

Fraud is the hardest of the financial crimes to prove, because the victim, on the face of it, handed over the money of their own will. Proof here does not rest on producing a single document, but on a coherent legal structure that combines documented evidence of the fraudulent means, what supports the deceptiveness of the claims (whether regarding the offender's capacity, the ownership of the property involved, or the existence of the advertised company or project), and the path of the money itself before and after it was handed over. Each of these layers needs sound legal collection, sequencing and preservation, and many serious fraud files lose before the court not because the incident did not happen, but because their evidence was gathered in a way that does not withstand a procedural defense.

In online cases these complications multiply: technical analysis comes into play for IP addresses, email, the offender's digital traces, electronic account transfers and currency wallets. Here the Cybercrime Unit of the Public Security Directorate becomes involved, and with a delay in reporting it quickly loses its ability to trace the money or preserve the digital evidence before it is lost.

Evidentiary sensitivity: In fraud cases, the way evidence is collected and its timing are no less important than its existence. The criminal cases department at Alabwini Law Firm provides drafting of the criminal report and management of the evidence file from the moment the incident is discovered.

7. The General Framework of the Criminal Complaint

The criminal complaint in a fraud case starts at the competent police station or the Public Prosecution, and is referred to the preliminary investigation, where the victim's statements are heard, the physical evidence is seized, and the accused is summoned. In online cases it is referred to the Cybercrime Unit for technical analysis. Drafting the criminal report from day one with a correct legal characterization is one of the most important points in the file, since it determines the course of the investigation that follows.

The proceedings then move to the Public Prosecution, which studies the evidence, interrogates the accused, and decides essential matters including pretrial detention, release on bail, or closing the investigation where the evidence is insufficient. Where there is sufficient evidence, the file is referred to the Criminal Magistrates' Court or the Criminal Court of First Instance, depending on the gravity of the crime and the value of the property involved. The trial is conducted under the Criminal Procedure Law, and the victim is entitled to bring a private-right claim (the victim's personal claim) within the criminal case to seek compensation instead of filing a separate civil suit. The judgment remains subject to appeal and then cassation within the legal time limits.

8. The Lines of Defense on Which the File Is Built

The defense in fraud cases does not follow a single template carried over from one file to another. It is usually built on multiple lines that may include the legal characterization of the act and whether the fraudulent means is present in its precise legal sense, or the existence of a prior contractual civil relationship that brings the act down from the level of a criminal offense to a civil dispute, or an argument about criminal intent and the offender's knowledge that the claim was false, or defenses related to the movement of the evidence, its sufficiency and the soundness of its collection. Choosing the appropriate line of defense and ordering its priorities is a purely discretionary matter that depends on the facts of each file and its available evidence, and analogy with what happened in another case is no guide.

9. The Relationship Between the Criminal and the Civil Case

The injured party often asks: "Should I file a criminal complaint or a civil suit to recover my money?" The answer:

The criminal case aims to punish and deter the offender. It does not guarantee recovery of the money if the offender has no assets.
The civil case aims to recover the money (compensation). It can be filed separately, or the civil claim can be joined to the criminal case by bringing a private-right claim.

In practice, combining the two paths is preferred: the criminal path to deter the offender, embarrass them and push them to pay, and the civil path to recover the sum. Many fraud cases are settled amicably after the accused is held in pretrial detention and pays the full amount.

10. Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between fraud and a bounced cheque?

A bounced cheque is an independent crime in the Jordanian Penal Code, with its own provisions and penalties. Fraud presupposes a fraudulent means broader than merely issuing a cheque. The two crimes may occur together if the offender used the cheque as a tool in a comprehensive fraudulent scheme.

Does the criminal case end with a settlement?

The victim's withdrawal of their complaint in a fraud crime usually leads to the termination of the criminal case for crimes that require a complaint to be initiated, within the rules of the Penal Code. However, some forms of fraud (those that harm public order, such as fraud against public funds or against the public) continue to be prosecuted by the Public Prosecution regardless of the victim's position.

Does the injured party recover their money simply because of a conviction?

Not automatically. They must either file a separate civil suit, or bring a private-right claim within the criminal case. Then comes the enforcement stage after the judgment is issued.

May phone calls be recorded as evidence of fraud?

The conditions for accepting recordings and their evidentiary weight are subject to judicial discretion that is hard to predict without reviewing each file separately. A recording in itself does not guarantee its acceptance, and it may be excluded for reasons relating to how it was obtained or the context of the conversation, which is why its real value is measured among the other evidence in the file and through specialist legal assessment.

What should I do if I discover I have been a victim of online fraud?

Online fraud is among the crimes in which the trace of digital evidence fades extremely quickly, and in which the money sometimes leaves the country within hours. The correct procedure and the correct sequence for preserving the evidence and following the banking trail of the money require the involvement of a specialist lawyer as soon as the incident is discovered, because every hour of delay may cost the ability to trace, and the steps for preservation and reporting differ according to the type of platform used and the method of transfer.

Does the penalty vary with the value of the stolen money?

Yes. The value of the sum is among the criteria the judge takes into account in setting the penalty within the legally prescribed range. Likewise, the capacity of the offender (a public official, a person in a position of trust) and the status of the victim (a minor, an elderly person, a person with a disability) may aggravate the penalty.

Legal Consultation

The correct characterization of the case is half the victory in fraud cases. An error in describing the act, as between fraud, theft and breach of trust, may lead to the dismissal of the complaint or to the acquittal of the accused. Alabwini Law Firm provides specialist legal services in criminal cases, including fraud in all its forms. For related articles: the crime of embezzlement, criminal forgery, and the public right and the private right in Jordanian law to explain what a waiver ends and what remains with the Public Prosecution.

The Crime of Fraud in Jordanian Law: Why Legal Characterization Is Half the Victory