Legal Definitions - deception

Deception is when someone intentionally makes another person believe something that is not true. It involves hiding the truth and creating a false impression. According to Ohio's criminal code, deception can be caused by false or misleading statements, withholdinginformation, preventing someone from acquiring information, or any other action that creates a false impression.

• Theft by deception: This occurs when someone uses deception to steal from another person. For example, if someone sells a fake product by making false claims about its quality, they are committing theft by deception.
• Unfair and deceptive trade practices: This happens when a business misleads consumers in order to gain an unfair advantage. For instance, if a company advertises a product as having certain features that it does not actually have, they are engaging in unfair and deceptive trade practices.

Both of these examples illustrate how deception involves intentionally misleading someone in order to gain something. In both cases, the person or business committing the deception is trying to benefit themselves at the expense of others.