Charlotte Embezzlement Defense Lawyer

Embezzlement charges do not insinuate that you intend to take violent action against another party. Instead, charges of embezzlement suggest that you, either as an individual or on behalf of a broader corporation, misappropriated a business’s assets for your own benefit. 

These assets are not confined to money but can include a business’s technology, manufacturing materials, and even storage space. While the category of assets that can be embezzled is broad, prosecutors must abide by a specific understanding of embezzlement when bringing your case before a judge.

To hold you accountable for the alleged crime of embezzlement, the prosecution must indicate that:

• You had a reliant relationship with the party that entrusted you with their assets
• The aforementioned relationship must specifically be defined as fiduciary
• You, as the defendant, must have allegedly come into possession of some manner of property
• You must have come into possession of the aforementioned property with the intention of misusing it
• The property must have been under the ownership of the prosecution prior to it allegedly coming into your possession

If you can challenge any of these points, you have a chance of overcoming the charges brought against you. A judge presented with insufficient evidence of embezzlement may throw out your case or reduce the consequences of your alleged misconduct.

Individual Accusations Versus Corporate Accusations

As mentioned, you may face embezzlement charges as an individual or as a representative of a corporation. In either case, a Charlotte embezzlement defense attorney can work with you to understand why certain charges are being leveled against you.

Working on a corporate level often requires more legwork than an individualized embezzlement case. If you need help gathering evidence to challenge embezzlement charges as a corporate representative, you can count on our team to help. Our embezzlement defense lawyers can work with members of your team to bring together essential documents and witness statements.

You can discuss your need for either individual or corporate representation with our team during an initial case consultation.

There are a few different consequences you may face if you fail to challenge or defend against embezzlement charges. If you are a public employee accused of embezzlement, North Carolina outlines your consequences in General Statutes: Embezzlement. Theft of more than $100,000 in corporate assets is classified as a Class C felony. It can see you spend up to 73 months in prison.

Public employees who allegedly steal less than $100,000 in corporate assets can spend up to 25 months in prison. These charges are classified as Class H felonies. Any fines related to your alleged misconduct may be determined by the attending judge and jury.

If, however, you are a public official accused of stealing assets from a business, things change. The consequences for stealing over $100,000 in assets, according to NC General Statutes, remain the same. If you’re accused of taking less than $100,000 in company assets, however, your possible prison time caps at six months, with fines and restitution varying.

Embezzlement cases, like other white collar crime cases, often involve a federal institution like the FBI. As such, you’re likely to get a warning from a federal party informing you that you’re being investigated for embezzlement. The moment you receive this warning, you should consider getting in touch with an embezzlement defense attorney in Charlotte.

You want to get in touch with a representative early in the investigative process for a few reasons. The earliest you have a embezzlement defense attorney on your side, the safer your exchanges with a federal representative and/or prosecutor can be. Our team can make sure that you present statements regarding your case without incriminating yourself.

Getting in touch with our team early into the investigation process also allows us to begin our own discovery process sooner than our embezzlement defense lawyers might otherwise. Embezzlement charges often involve a significant amount of paperwork, all of which we have to consider. The more time our embezzlement defense lawyers have to address the prosecution’s evidence, the more watertight your defense may be.