fraud
Why some fraud is more easy to convict than others?
<p><a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8344189/Lori-Loughlin-Mossimo-Giannulli-plead-GUILTY-college-admissions-scandal.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8344189/Lori-Loughlin-Mossimo-Giannulli-plead-GUILTY-college-admissions-scandal.html</a></p>

<p>This "fraud" seems reasonable. Parents want to put kids in better school. They hire a consultant. They may not even know it's a bribe. Are we bribing anyone if we pay someone to make our resume looks good?</p>

<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-avpx8UTakI" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-avpx8UTakI</a></p>

<p>This one seems like more obviously fraud. It's done again and again and again.</p>

<p>Yet, I've heard it's so common that most oil changes company are scam and no body got prosecuted.</p>

<p>Why is the more obvious fraud is not the one prosecuted more easily?</p>

<p>What are the elements? </p>

<blockquote>
  <p>This "fraud" seems reasonable. Parents want to put kids in better school. They hire a consultant. They may not even know it's a bribe. Are we bribing anyone if we pay someone to make our resume looks good?</p>
</blockquote>

<p>The headline case in that Daily Mail article wasn't about asking someone to help you improve the presentation of your resume, it was about <em>lying</em> that the two girls were "rowing stars when neither had ever played the sport".</p>

<p>This was one aspect of the cases in the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2019_college_admissions_bribery_scandal" rel="nofollow noreferrer">2019 college admissions scandal</a>, which is well worth reading about to understand the extent to which the parents went. Including:</p>

<ul>
<li>arranging to falsely certify children as having a learning disability</li>
<li>so that they would get extra time in exams and get other accommodations</li>
<li>and have their exams in locations under the organiser's control (where other people might take the exams)</li>
<li>falsifying the results of exams </li>
<li>falsifying sports credentials by bribing sports staff and coaches to lie about the child's ability</li>
<li>altered documents and set up social media profiles to create fake sports star identities </li>
</ul>

<p>It was like an espionage operation!</p>

<p>I don't know if we can say those cases were easily prosecuted - they took eight years to come to trial. And there may well be more we don't know about. Singer claimed that "arranging to falsely certify children as having a learning disability" went on 'all the time'.</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>[oil change scams]</p>
</blockquote>

<p>On the face of it, it seems fraudulent to tell someone they need an oil change when you know they don't so that they give you money for that service.</p>

<p>It's certainly fraud to charge someone for changing their oil when you didn't.</p>

<p>I don't know about selling more expensive oils - seems like audio cable sales to me, could be fraud if you tell someone you'll definitely notice a distinct difference between this $10 product and that $1000 product. But it likely 'happens all the time'.</p>

<p>The law regarding fraud depends on the jurisdiction and there might be civil and/or criminal fraud. But in essence fraud is committed when the person intentionally deceives another person to cause a gain to himself or others or inflict loss or risk of loss on others.</p>

<p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fraud" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fraud</a></p>
