Offences20

1

Any person who—

a

by any deception (as defined in section 15(4) of the [1969 c. 16 (N.I.)] Theft Act (Northern Ireland) 1969) obtains compensation or in-creased compensation for himself or for any other person; or

b

for the purposes of obtaining any compensation, knowingly, in or in connection with an application to the Secretary of State or otherwise, makes a false or misleading statement or a statement which he does not believe to be true or fails to disclose a material fact, shall be guilty of an offence.

2

A person guilty of an offence under paragraph (1) shall be liable—

a

on conviction on indictment, to a fine or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 5 years, or to both; or

b

on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year, or to both.