deception

noun

1 the court found that they had obtained money by deception:

deceit, deceitfulness, duplicity, double-dealing, fraud, fraudulence, cheating, trickery, duping, hoodwinking, chicanery, underhandedness, deviousness, slyness, cunning, craft, craftiness, wiliness, artfulness, guile, dissimulation, dissembling, bluff, bluffing, lying, pretense, artifice, treachery;

informal crookedness, monkey business, funny business, hanky-panky, jiggery-pokery, kidology;

North American, informal monkeyshines;

Irish, informal codology;

archaic management, knavery.

2 she had proof that this was a deception:

trick, stratagem, device, ruse, scheme, dodge, maneuver, contrivance, machination, subterfuge, cheat, swindle, confidence trick;

sham, fraud, pretense, imposture, hoax, fake, misrepresentation, blind, wile, artifice, Trojan horse;

informal con, con trick, setup, game, scam, sting, leg-pull, flimflam;

British, informal wheeze;

North American, informal bunco, grift;

Australian, informal lurk, rort;

South African, informal schlenter;

British, informal , dated flanker;

archaic shift, fetch, rig.