Fleece coats from the south (4)
I believe the answer is:
scam
'fleece' is the definition.
(I've seen this in another clue)
'coats from the south' is the wordplay.
'coats' becomes 'macs' (mac is a kind of coat).
'from the south' says the letters should be written backwards (in a down clue, letters go up).
'macs' in reverse letter order is 'SCAM'.
(Other definitions for scam that I've seen before include "Fraud, dishonest scheme" , "Fraudulent action" , "Fraudulent scheme, swindle" , "Swindle (sl.)" , "Fraudulent business scheme" .)