Punishment for Embezzlement Depends on Dollar Amount Stolen
Video Transcribed: This is Wagoner Attorney Stuart Ericson, and we’re going to talk about some property crimes. Embezzlement.
Embezzlement is a crime against ownership because the person has acquired possession by legal means, but it is not their money. They’re changing ownership. Embezzlement can be a misdemeanor or a felony depending upon the dollar amount. Less than $500 is a misdemeanor, and more than $500 is a felony. The most common type of embezzlement would be a situation where you’re a clerk at a store taking in cash money at a grocery store, let’s say. And let’s say the clerk takes $20 out of every 10, $20 bills, they take one, so it adds up over time. Obviously, in that situation, you’re embezzling because that clerk is an employee of the store. They are legally allowed to take that money. They’re just converting it to their own ownership. That’s absolutely embezzlement.
It’s not taking money or something by force, that’s robbery. It’s not taking it by stealth, by any legal means, that’s larceny. That’s what embezzlement is. Usually, it’s in an employer-employee situation. And, of course, the intent has to be to deprive the owner permanently of that property. For the misdemeanor, the punishment is up to one year in the county jail. And for a felony, again, it depends on the dollar amount, but it can be up to two years in the Department of Corrections, up to five years, or up to eight years in the Department of Corrections, depending upon how much money is embezzled.
If you have any more questions for an Oklahoma criminal defense lawyer about this property crime called embezzlement, reach out to me, Stuart Ericson at wagnerlawyer.com.
