Stories about people who commit embezzlement often paint them as manipulative thieves who earn people’s trust and then steal from their employers. However, embezzlement is often not a black-and-white issue. A person misappropriating resources that belong to their employer may not have taken the job with ill intentions. In fact, they may not even view their actions as embezzlement. They may react with legitimate shock when someone in human resources or law enforcement notifies them of the accusations.
Many embezzlement issues begin with questionable company practices, bad training and poor oversight. People may not realize that their actions could lead to future prosecution.
Embezzlement often involves business expenses
Worker embezzlement can take many different forms, ranging from intercepting client payments to stealing physical property from a business. However, most people think of money as the stolen object in embezzlement cases. Those accused of embezzlement may not directly take money but may still cause the organization losses.
White-collar employees often have the option of submitting certain expense receipts for reimbursement. The company may cover the cost when they take a client to lunch or stay at a hotel on their way to out-of-state training. Other times, companies may provide workers with expense cards. It is very easy for people to slide down a slippery slope with either reimbursements or expense accounts.
Sometimes, people may follow the lead of others in their department or the person who trains them. People may share the idea that they can occasionally write off a personal meal or a tank of gas with new employees and set them up in a pattern of bad habits. Other times, workers may justify such behavior because they view it as a perk of employment or as a gray area. After all, companies typically get to write off those expenses for tax purposes anyway. These people could unintentionally misuse company cards or violate reimbursement policies.
Someone accused of embezzlement might face not only the threat of incarceration but also financial penalties. A criminal record involving embezzlement could very well hold someone back from the best opportunities in life even after they serve their sentence. But, those accused of embezzlement can often defend against the charges if they review the situation carefully with an attorney and work to execute a strong defense strategy. And, ultimately, recognizing that seemingly innocent behavior could lead to embezzlement allegations might help those struggling to make sense of their current legal challenges.