Embezzlement is a crime that the justice system takes very seriously, because it involves an alleged betrayal of trust by someone who had authority over someone else’s money.
If you are facing this charge, you need counsel from an experienced New Jersey embezzlement attorney who knows how to proceed with even the toughest cases. A criminal lawyer in New Jersey can build an effective defense to help lessen or minimize any potential consequences associated with the charge.
Defining the CrimeIn a nutshell, embezzlement happens when individuals fraudulently appropriate, for their own use, money or property that had been entrusted to their care.
People often picture a high-ranking executive funneling corporate funds into their own bank account. However, the principle of embezzlement can be applied whenever one person or corporation has entrusted its funds to another.
These cases can be very complicated, involving convoluted financial questions, intricate lists of transactions, and inscrutable documents, ledgers and computer files.
One important element is that the embezzler must have been in lawful possession of the property at the time of the fraudulent conversion, and not merely have custody of the property.
If the person had lawful possession of the property, the crime is embezzlement. If the person merely had custody, the crime is larceny. This could make a difference in terms of the severity of the penalties the court can impose.
The business world cannot function if one party to a transaction is unable to place trust in the other party’s honesty. Clients have to trust that the person they are paying will use the money in the agreed-upon way, and a business has to trust that employees who handle the firm’s finances will not try to use the money for their own purposes.
Defense StrategiesThe most important thing an experienced New Jersey embezzlement lawyer can do is negotiate with the plaintiff to see if an out-of-court solution can be reached, before the case ever goes to trial.
For most plaintiffs, getting some or all of their money back is usually more important to them than seeing criminal penalties imposed.
Here are some other things that must be done:
- Carefully reviewing the relevant financial data
- Finding flaws in the prosecution’s case
- Investigating the details of the case
- Talking to prosecutors to reach a plea deal
The Bill of Rights includes specific limits on what prosecutors can do.
Embezzlement attorneys in New Jersey will aggressively challenge any evidence that the authorities try to use, forcing them to justify how that evidence was gathered and how it is relevant to the specific charges.
Every American is presumed innocent. Americans do not have to prove they did not commit a crime. The prosecutors must prove their case beyond a reasonable doubt.
Because of that, federal and state authorities often put up a tough front at first, but when confronted with aggressive advocates, show a willingness to cut a deal.
Benefit of an AttorneyMany New Jersey embezzlement lawyers can handle routine tasks such as drafting a will or helping with the purchase of real estate. But criminal law is a completely different world – the rules are different, and the stakes are a lot higher.
An experienced embezzlement attorney in New Jersey will listen to your story without judgment, gather all the information, and give you an honest assessment of what the best options are.
However, time is not your ally. If the government is already making a case against you, you need to speak with an attorney as soon as possible.