Following an overview of the history of the offense in England and Canada up to the creation of the substantive offense of fraud in 1948, the book's first major section reviews most of the relevant court cases before the Supreme Court's decision in R. v. Olan (1978), which confirmed the predominant expansionary view of fraud and consolidated and concisely articulated the physical elements of the offense. The book's second major section outlines and analyzes the 'Olan' decision along with the most significant contemporary English court decisions on fraud. The third major part brings together under a variety of themes the leading cases in the post-Olan period. Elements of the physical part of the offense examined are deceit, falsehood, and dishonesty. The link between dishonesty and deprivation is also explored. The book's final major section analyzes the mental element of fraud. The book's central thesis is that the Canadian judiciary, unaided by Parliament, has fashioned the stark words of the fraud statute into an effective sanction against dishonesty of any kind in commercial matters of all kinds. A table of cases, chapter footnotes, and subject index.