Legal Definitions - cozening

Cozening is a historical legal term that describes a general act of deceit, trickery, or fraudulent dealing. It refers to the offense of cheating someone through cunning or guile, often in situations where the deception might not fit neatly into more specific modern categories of fraud or theft. Essentially, it means to swindle or mislead someone through clever, often subtle, dishonest practices.

• Example 1: The Art Collector's Deception

  An antique dealer, knowing a particular painting was a clever forgery, subtly implied to an inexperienced art collector that it had a prestigious, albeit unproven, provenance. The dealer never explicitly stated it was genuine, but used vague language and displayed it alongside authentic pieces, leading the collector to believe it was a valuable original and pay a high price. This would be considered cozening because the dealer used indirect but intentional deception to defraud the collector, without necessarily committing outright forgery or explicit false advertising.

• Example 2: The Contractor's Inflated Bill

  A homeowner hired a contractor to fix a leaky roof. During the repair, the contractor claimed to discover several "critical" issues with the home's foundation that required immediate, expensive repairs, presenting a complex explanation the homeowner couldn't fully understand. In reality, these issues were minor or non-existent, but the contractor leveraged the homeowner's lack of expertise and fear to persuade them to authorize unnecessary work at an exorbitant cost. This manipulative overcharging through deceptive claims constitutes cozening.

• Example 3: The Inheritance Scheme

  A distant relative, having learned of an elderly person's recent inheritance, began frequently visiting and offering "help" with managing finances. Over several months, this relative subtly convinced the elderly person to transfer significant sums into a joint account, claiming it was for better investment opportunities, but then gradually withdrew the money for personal use. The relative never directly stole the money or forged documents, but used a sustained pattern of manipulation and false pretenses to defraud the elderly person. This pattern of cunning deception and exploitation of trust would be an example of cozening.