Embezzlement Defense Attorney
Grand Rapids, Michigan
Embezzlement is, no matter how complex or complicated the scam, a crime of theft. One major difference between embezzlement and other theft crimes is that embezzlement often deals with large amounts of money. It also is a crime that requires a lot more investigation. There are some prosecutor’s offices that have special divisions for embezzlement.
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Embezzlement Charges
Most embezzlement cases begin when a company does a random audit or finds suspicious transactions that suggest criminal activity. The company will then confront the employee who they think might be guilty of this theft crime. I always tell my clients to never talk to police and to never talk to companies who are investigating this kind of crime. Even if you are innocent, you may give up evidence that will make you look guilty and thus more likely to face criminal charges.
Michigan Embezzlement Laws
The charges and penalties a person may face after being convicted of embezzlement in the state of Michigan will greatly depend upon the value of the property in question:
- Property valued at less than $200: When the property in question is valued at under $200, a person will face penalties that can include a fine of up to $500, or 3 times the value of the property, as well as up to 93 days in jail. If the property was found to have been embezzled from a charity organization, however, the fine will increase to $2,000 or up to 1 year in jail.
- Property valued between $200 and $1,000: In embezzlement cases where the property has been valued at between $200 and $1,000, a person may face a fine of up to $2,000 or 3 times the value of the property, as well as 1 year in jail. If prior convictions are to have been found, or the property was taken from a charity organization, a person may face a fine up to $10,000 and/or 5 years in prison.
- Property valued between $1,000 and $20,000: If the property is found to be valued at between $1,000 and $20,000, a person will then face penalties of a fine not exceeding $10,000 as well as up to 5 years in prison. If the person facing charges has prior convictions or the property was taken from a charitable organization, these penalties will raise to a $15,000 fine as well as 10 years in prison.
- Property valued at between $20,000 and $50,000: If the embezzled property is valued at $20,000 or more but less than $50,000, a person faces a fine of up to $15,000, or 3 times the value of the property, as well as up to 10 years in prison under MCL 750.174(5).
- Property valued at between $50,000 and $100,000: For embezzlement cases with property valued at between $50,000 and $100,000, a person may face fines of up to $25,000 or 3 times the value of the property, whichever is greater, as well as up to 15 years in prison.
- Property valued at $100,000 or more: For extreme Michigan embezzlement cases involving property valued at over $100,000 a person may face a fine of $50,000, or 3 times the value of the property as well as up to 20 years in prison.
Statute Of Limitations
The statute of limitations for embezzlement charges in Michigan is 6 years, which means that the crime had to have been committed within 6 years of the defendant being charged. This limitation is put into place for both felony and misdemeanor embezzlement cases, however, under tolling provision, the statute does not run during a time when the defendant does not reside within the state.
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The Element Most People Overlook: A Position of Trust
MCL 750.174(1) does not apply to just anyone. It reaches a person who, as the agent, servant, or employee of another, or as the trustee, bailee, or custodian of another's property, fraudulently disposes of or converts that property to his or her own use, or takes or secretes it with the intent to convert it.
That relationship is an element. It also explains why embezzlement cases look so different from other theft cases: you had permission to handle the money. The dispute is about what you were permitted to do with it. Cases regularly turn on an owner's verbal authorization that was never written down, on a loan everyone understood at the time, on commission or expense arrangements that were never documented, or on bookkeeping that was sloppy rather than criminal.
How These Cases Begin
Almost always with an internal audit, an accountant's question, or a new manager reviewing old records. The employer then does one of two things: calls the police, or calls you into a room.
That second one is the dangerous one. An employer interview is not a police interview, so no Miranda warning is required and nothing stops the company from handing the recording and your written statement to a detective. People sign admissions in these meetings believing that cooperating will keep it civil. It does not. If your employer wants to talk to you about missing money, that is the moment to call a lawyer — not after the charges issue.
The Penalty Ladder
| Amount | Offense | Maximum |
|---|---|---|
| Less than $200 | Misdemeanor — MCL 750.174(2) | 93 days, $500 or 3× the amount |
| $200 – under $1,000 | Misdemeanor — MCL 750.174(3) | 1 year, $2,000 or 3× the amount |
| $1,000 – under $20,000 | Felony — MCL 750.174(4) | 5 years, $10,000 or 3× the amount |
| $20,000 – under $50,000 | Felony — MCL 750.174(5) | 10 years, $15,000 or 3× the amount |
| $50,000 – under $100,000 | Felony — MCL 750.174(6) | 15 years, $25,000 or 3× the amount |
| $100,000 or more | Felony — MCL 750.174(7) | 20 years, $50,000 or 3× the amount |
Prior convictions, and a victim that is a nonprofit or charitable organization, each push an offense up a tier.
How I Defend an Embezzlement Charge
- You were authorized. The single most common real defense. Owners forget what they approved, and small businesses run on informal arrangements that look terrible in a spreadsheet two years later.
- No fraudulent intent. Poor record-keeping, commingled accounts, and unreimbursed expenses are not crimes. The prosecutor has to prove intent to defraud, not disorganization.
- The amount is wrong. Because every tier is a dollar threshold, the loss figure is an element. Employer estimates are frequently inflated, double-count the same transaction, or include losses that predate your employment. Moving the number across a threshold changes the whole case.
- Someone else had access. Shared logins, shared registers, and shared safes are the norm in small businesses. Access by many people is reasonable doubt.
- The aggregation does not hold. If the transactions were not part of one scheme within a 12-month window, they cannot be added together into a felony.
- The forensic accounting. These cases are documents. I go through them, and where it is warranted I bring in an accountant to do it properly.
Resolving an Embezzlement Case
Where the evidence is strong, the goal shifts: keeping the amount below a felony threshold, structuring restitution so it resolves the case rather than following you for a decade, and — where the client is eligible — pursuing a resolution that avoids a public conviction. For a first-time offender, Michigan's Holmes Youthful Trainee Act (for those who were 17 to 23 at the time) and delayed sentencing under MCL 771.1 are both worth examining. A theft conviction involving dishonesty is uniquely destructive to anyone who holds a professional license or handles money for a living, which is why the record matters as much as the sentence here.
Related reading: theft and property crimes defense, white collar crimes, larceny by conversion, health care fraud, and uttering and publishing.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the penalty for embezzlement in Michigan?
It is graded by amount under MCL 750.174. Under $200 is a 93-day misdemeanor. $200 to under $1,000 is a 1-year misdemeanor. $1,000 to under $20,000 is a 5-year felony. $20,000 to under $50,000 is a 10-year felony. $50,000 to under $100,000 is a 15-year felony. $100,000 or more is a 20-year felony. Each tier also carries a fine of up to three times the amount embezzled.
What makes embezzlement different from ordinary theft?
The relationship. MCL 750.174 applies to someone who was an agent, servant, employee, trustee, bailee, or custodian of the property — meaning you had lawful possession of it to begin with and then converted it. In a larceny the taking is wrongful from the start. In an embezzlement the possession was rightful and the use was not. That position of trust is an element the prosecutor must prove.
Can several small transactions be added together?
Yes. Michigan allows amounts from separate incidents to be aggregated where they were part of a scheme or course of conduct within a 12-month period. That is how a series of small transactions becomes a single felony count. Whether the incidents really were one scheme — rather than unrelated events — is a legitimate defense issue.
What if I intended to pay the money back?
An intention to repay is not a complete defense, but it bears directly on fraudulent intent, which the prosecutor must prove. Documented repayments, an open accounting, and transactions recorded in the books all cut against the claim that you were concealing anything. Many of these cases are accounting disputes or authorization disputes rather than crimes.
Will I have to pay restitution?
Almost certainly, if there is a conviction. Restitution is ordered in nearly every embezzlement case, it is based on the victim's actual loss, and it survives the end of a jail or probation term. Getting the loss figure right — rather than accepting the employer's first number — is a substantial part of defending one of these cases.
Talk to Me Before You Talk to the Police
I am Shawn Haff, and I defend theft and property crime cases across Kent, Ottawa, Allegan, Barry, Ionia, Muskegon, Newaygo, and Van Buren counties. The call is free, I answer my own phone, and in a property case the earlier I am involved the more room there is to work. Call 616-438-6719 or send me a message.