Short answer. Yes. Article 1456 provides that if property is acquired through mistake or fraud, the person obtaining it is, by force of law, considered a trustee of an implied trust for the benefit of the person from whom the property comes. So the one who defrauded you holds your property as trustee, for your benefit.

What the law says

If property is acquired through mistake or fraud, the person obtaining it is, by force of law, considered a trustee of an implied trust for the benefit of the person from whom the property comes.

Civil Code, Article 1456 — Constructive Trust From Fraud or Mistake. Read the full provision →

Fraud makes the wrongdoer a trustee

Article 1456 turns a fraudster's apparent ownership into a trust. Its words are direct: If property is acquired through mistake or fraud, the person obtaining it is, by force of law, considered a trustee of an implied trust for the benefit of the person from whom the property comes. The wrongdoer may hold the title, but the law treats him as holding it for you, not for himself. This is a constructive trust — one imposed by law regardless of anyone's intention — precisely because it would be unjust to let a person keep property he got by deceiving its true owner. In substance, what he took he holds for your benefit.

What the trust entitles you to

Because the wrongdoer is only a trustee, you remain the party for whose benefit the property is held, and the trust exists so the property can be restored to you. In practice this supports an action to recover the property or to compel its reconveyance from the one who defrauded you. The trust attaches to the very property that was wrongfully obtained. It reflects a simple idea: fraud should not be a means of acquiring ownership, so the law strips the wrongdoer of the beneficial side of what he holds and keeps it for the person from whom it came.

Fraud or mistake - and proving it

The article covers two triggers: mistake or fraud. Fraud is deliberate deception that led to the acquisition; mistake covers property obtained through error rather than design. Either can give rise to the implied trust. But the trust does not arise on mere say-so — you will have to establish that the property was in fact acquired through the fraud or mistake you allege. The clearer the proof that the acquisition was tainted, the firmer the basis for treating the holder as a trustee. The law supplies the trust; you supply the evidence that the acquisition fits the article.

Limits: time and third parties

A constructive trust under this article is not a right that lasts forever unqualified. An action based on it can be lost through the passage of time, so delay in asserting your claim can be fatal; the trust does not excuse sleeping on your rights indefinitely. It also operates against the wrongdoer and those who stand in his position — but the rights of a later purchaser who acquired the property in good faith and for value are protected by separate rules and may cut off recovery. The article gives you a powerful starting point, not an automatic return of the property in every circumstance.

Cases citing this provision

These Supreme Court decisions cite the provision above. We list them so you can read them yourself; the summaries of what each decided are not ours to give.

Related provisions

Note. Statute text quoted on this page is reproduced from the official enactment and is linked to the full provision. The explanation around it is general legal information from Vivas & Nobles Law Office, not legal advice. Whether it applies to your situation depends on facts only a lawyer reviewing them can assess.