The word “theft” is a blanket term that refers to a broad range of property crimes whose end results are that they deprive someone of the value of an item or asset. There are many different kinds of theft, and some of them have stronger negative cultural connotations than others.
Shoplifting, for example, often involves teenagers with poor impulse control and low-cost retail items, which leads people to think of it as a less serious crime. Embezzlement, on the other hand, involves someone stealing from their employer, potentially by using their position within the company to access the assets or funds that they embezzled.
Embezzlement charges can carry more significant consequences, including greater difficulty securing gainful employment because of the previous breach of trust between an employee and their employer that embezzlement implies.
Embezzlement can take a number of different forms
For most people, thinking of embezzlement will call to mind images of someone diverting money from a bank account held by their employer into their personal account or just into their pockets in the form of cash, possibly taken from the petty cash drawer at the office.
However, embezzlement can look like many things, not just the direct diversion of monetary assets. It could involve taking items from an employer for personal gain or using company assets, possibly without returning them. Provided that an employer gave someone access to and authority over the asset in question, its theft could constitute embezzlement.
Under Texas law, the value of the assets embezzled will impact the charges and consequences someone faces. Once the embezzlement accusations involve a value of $1,500 or more, the person accused will face felony charges. Lesser amounts can result in misdemeanor charges.
Fighting embezzlement charges can protect your job prospects
Any criminal record can hinder your ability to secure the best jobs available, but a conviction or guilty plea related to an embezzlement charge will likely make most proper prospective employers highly skeptical of the idea of hiring or working with you. After all, if someone stole from a previous employer, they pose a risk of stealing from their current employer as well.
Fighting pending criminal charges, especially embezzlement charges, will require careful planning and analysis of the evidence against you.