Offences
17.—(1) Any person who—
(a)by any deception (as defined in section 15(4) of the Theft Act (Northern Ireland) 1969(1)) obtains compensation or increased 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.