Being accused of embezzlement can be devastating. Depending on the case, embezzlement can carry jail time, massive fines, and even years in state prison.
A single charge can also affect your job, your business reputation, and your prospects for the future. If you have been accused, you need to talk to a Los Angeles embezzlement lawyer.
Simmrin Law Group can help you. We have built our name on defending those who are accused, and we know how to win. Do not risk jail time or a lost career because of one criminal charge. Let our Los Angeles criminal defense lawyers give you a free consultation 24/7.
How Is Embezzlement Defined in California?
Embezzlement is defined in a state law known as California Penal Code Section 503. Under this law, you are only guilty of embezzlement if all the following facts are true:
- You were entrusted with money or property,
- The property’s owner trusted you to maintain or keep it,
- You instead fraudulently transferred it to yourself for your own benefit, and
- You did so with the intent to deprive the owner of the use or benefit of the property or money.
If even one of these elements is missing in your case, you may not be guilty of embezzlement, and your sentence may be reduced or dropped altogether.
At your initial consultation with an embezzlement defense attorney serving Los Angeles, they will assess your situation and tell you what the next steps may be.
For a free legal consultation, call (310) 896-2723
Is Embezzlement Hard to Prove?
While an employer can easily accuse you of embezzlement, proving it is a different matter. To prove that you embezzled funds, the prosecution must demonstrate all four elements of the charge. If they cannot, you cannot be convicted.
This is why embezzlement charges can be hard to prove when the defendant has a good lawyer. If someone has accused you, an embezzlement lawyer serving L.A. may be able to help you avoid a charge. We know what elements to look for in your case to disprove your accusation.
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What Are Examples of Embezzlement Cases?
Embezzlement is usually seen as a white-collar crime, and that’s often true. Accountants, corporate executives, employees, and business partners all have the opportunity to embezzle in different ways.
Anytime someone is entrusted with an account, control of a firm, cash, or a business property, there is the potential for embezzlement to occur.
However, embezzlement can also extend to many other situations, such as:
- A son using his elderly father’s savings account to pay for his own purchases
- A nursing home employee billing false charges to a patient’s medical account, and pocketing the money
- A parking valet renting out the cars he is entrusted with
- An ex-husband disposing of property that is jointly owned with his ex-wife and keeping the full profit (or more than his allotted share)
Even simply stealing cash from a register technically counts as embezzlement. If you are not sure that your case counts as embezzlement, you should contact a Los Angeles white-collar crime lawyer.
A Los Angeles embezzlement lawyer can tell you if your charges are legitimate and what they can do for your case.
Types of Embezzlement Simmrin Law Group May Be Able to Defend
Being accused of a financial crime can be stressful and unsettling, but an accusation does not mean a conviction. Our criminal defense law firm represents clients facing a wide range of embezzlement and related white-collar charges, and we handle each case with care and confidentiality.
- Employee embezzlement: Allegations involving the misuse or theft of company funds, inventory, or accounts by an employee or manager.
- Corporate embezzlement: Claims that executives, officers, or directors improperly diverted business assets for personal benefit.
- Bank and financial institution embezzlement: Accusations of misappropriating funds from banks, credit unions, or other financial organizations.
- Trust and estate embezzlement: Situations where a trustee, executor, or fiduciary is accused of mishandling or taking assets from a trust or estate.
- Nonprofit or charity embezzlement: Alleged misuse of donated funds or organizational resources.
- Credit card fraud: Charges involving the unauthorized use or handling of credit card information or accounts.
- Healthcare fraud: Allegations related to improper billing, kickbacks, or misuse of healthcare funds.
- Insider trading: Claims that confidential, nonpublic information was used for unlawful securities trading.
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Is It Embezzlement if the Money Is Returned?
Yes, even if you return the money, it is still embezzlement. Any time that you use your company’s funds for your own purposes, you are embezzling. That’s still true if you give the money back afterward.
However, you do have a better chance at a reduced sentence if you return the money. By showing that you understood what you did was wrong and tried to make it right, you won’t avoid an embezzlement charge, but you could lessen the severity of your penalties.
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What Is the Punishment for Embezzlement in California?
The penalties depend on what type of embezzlement charge you face. If you are accused of embezzlement, you can be charged with two different crimes:
- Petty theft, which refers to embezzlement worth $950 or less and is always a misdemeanor, or
- Grand theft, which refers to embezzlement worth more than $950 and can be a felony or a misdemeanor.
You cannot be charged with both for a single act. However, if you are accused of multiple small acts of embezzlement, and they collectively add up to more than $950 within any 12-month period, you can be charged with grand theft embezzlement.
The penalties for each one are:
- Petty theft embezzlement
- Up to six months in county jail, a fine of up to $1,000
- Grand theft embezzlement (misdemeanor and felony)
- Up to one year in county jail, up to $1,000 in fines
- 16 months, two years, or three years in county jail, a fine of up to $10,000
A criminal defense attorney may be able to help you avoid severe penalties in your case. A free consultation with us can show you what can be done about your case.
When Is the Punishment for Embezzlement More Severe?
There are also some sentence enhancements that can make the penalties more severe:
- You may face the maximum sentence for your charge if you embezzled from a senior citizen or someone under your care, and you may face an additional count of elder abuse if they are senile or have a major disability
- If the property embezzled was a firearm, you will serve your sentence in state prison instead of county jail
- You also face extra time if you embezzled particularly large amounts of money (one extra year for property worth $65,000 or more, two extra years for property worth $200,000 or more, three extra years for property worth $1,300,000 or more, or four 4 extra years for property worth $3,200,000 or more)
Depending on the circumstances, you could also be charged with forgery, check fraud, or real estate fraud. With the help of a skilled criminal defense lawyer, you may be able to reduce more severe penalties.
When Is Grand Theft Embezzlement a Felony in California?
Grand theft embezzlement is always a felony in California if it involves a firearm or an automobile. Otherwise, the prosecutor will choose whether to charge you with a felony based on:
- Your criminal history (if any)
- The circumstances of the cases
- How much money or property value was involved
This is an area where a criminal defense lawyer serving Los Angeles can potentially help negotiate down an offer of a much less serious misdemeanor charge. If you believe you’re facing a felony embezzlement charge, you should contact a criminal defense attorney.
Can You Beat an Embezzlement Charge in Los Angeles?
There is a chance that, with the help of a skilled lawyer, you could beat your embezzlement charge.
By showing evidence like documents, witness testimony, and security video that proves you are not guilty of embezzlement, your embezzlement lawyer serving Los Angeles may be able to get your case dismissed.
We don’t advise that you try to get your charge dropped on your own. The ins and outs of criminal law are hard to navigate even for other lawyers, so having an attorney by your side is important to your case.
What Is the Best Defense to an Embezzlement Charge?
You need to partner with a criminal defense lawyer to get the strongest defense against your white-collar crime charges. The defense depends on what happened and what evidence is involved.
However, the three main defenses that often succeed in embezzlement cases are:
There Was No Criminal Intent
The specific intent to deprive the rightful owner of value or benefit is part of the federal crime. Honest mistakes, even very serious and costly ones, are not embezzlement. You can only be charged if the prosecution can prove that you had criminal intent.
Good Faith
If you can show that you were open and public about what you were doing, it undermines the element of fraud that is required in embezzlement cases. This is particularly strong if you believed the property was yours to use (even if you were wrong).
Wrongful Accusations
Unfortunately, “embezzlement” is the first accusation made in many situations where former business partners or family members disagree over a property.
These cases can be emotional and time-consuming, but they can also be easy to fight because the other side lacks hard evidence. You need to have an embezzlement lawyer serving Los Angeles on your side.
Talk to an Embezzlement Attorney Serving Los Angeles for Free
If you are facing false accusations, embezzlement charges, or believe you are under investigation, getting legal guidance as early as possible is critical. Embezzlement charges ruin careers, businesses, and lives. Don’t let this happen to you; get legal representation from Simmrin Law Group today.
Let our Los Angeles embezzlement lawyers give you a FREE consultation, then visit our FAQ page to learn more.
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