The Criminal Code of Canada defines fraud as obtaining goods, services, money, property, or other items of value through deceitful means.
The guidelines used by the court for establishing penalties is directly related to the monetary value associated with the offence. Those offences valued at $5,000 or more carry stricter penalties than crimes valued less than $5,000. Further, the courts consider charges against first time offenders and repeat offenders differently when it comes to sentencing those found guilty. Regardless of the actual dollar value of the crime, or first or repeat offence, anyone found guilty of fraud offences could face varying lengths of imprisonment for their crimes.