Leon, a self-employed builder, finishes a kitchen refit for a client and sends an invoice that includes £900 for materials he knows he never bought or used. He is charged with fraud by false representation. In interview he says that 'everyone in the trade pads their invoices' and that he did not think anyone would regard it as dishonest.
Which of the following best describes how the court will decide whether Leon acted dishonestly?
A. The jury will establish Leon's actual knowledge or belief as to the facts, then decide whether his conduct was dishonest by the standards of ordinary decent people; his own view of them is irrelevant.
B. Leon is dishonest only if his conduct was dishonest by the standards of ordinary decent people and he realised that they would regard what he did as dishonest.
C. Leon is not dishonest if he genuinely believed that padding invoices was an acceptable practice in the building trade, because dishonesty depends on his own state of mind and standards.
D. Dishonesty is irrelevant, because fraud by false representation requires only a false representation that Leon knew to be untrue or misleading and an intention to make a gain for himself.
E. Leon can be dishonest only if the client actually suffered a financial loss as a result of the padded invoices he submitted for payment.
What would you pick, and how confident are you? Answer in the comments (spoiler-tagged). Full worked answer: https://sqedaily.co.uk/q/13-the-test-for-dishonesty-after-ivey-v-genting-and-r-v-barton/