Final answer:
To prove the criminal offense of fraud, the state must demonstrate various elements such as falseness, intent, and damages, all beyond a reasonable doubt. Fraud cases rely on clear evidence of deception and its reliance by the victim for conviction. In serious criminal cases, the defendant is typically indicted by a grand jury at the federal level.
Step-by-step explanation:
The criminal offense of fraud requires the following elements to be proven: a representation of an existing fact; its falseness; its materiality; the speaker's knowledge of its falseness or his ignorance of its truth; the speaker's intent that it should be acted upon by the person and in the manner reasonably contemplated; the hearer's ignorance of its falsity; the hearer's reliance on its truth; the hearer's right to rely thereon; and consequent damages suffered by the hearer.
In a criminal case, the state must prove the defendant's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. This is a higher burden of proof than in civil cases, where the standard is to prove the case "beyond a preponderance of the evidence".