Embezzlement is typically considered a white-collar crime. It is a type of theft, but it is much different than other types of theft in the United States.
For example, if someone hacked into a business’s financial accounts and transferred money into their personal account, that would simply be theft. They never had authorization to access those accounts in the first place, so they were committing a crime just by doing so. They were then committing another crime by taking assets out of the account without permission.
Embezzlement, however, is the fraudulent misappropriation of assets. The person who takes them does so for their own financial gain, but they were allowed to access the account and handle the assets initially. They just used those assets in a way that was not approved or authorized.
Financial officers and accountants
For instance, imagine that an accountant or a chief financial officer (CFO) at a business is given access to the company’s accounts. They need to use them to transfer money, pay bills, handle payroll responsibilities, pay taxes and much more. In other words, they are fully authorized to access those accounts due to their position at the company.
When they misappropriate the assets, however, such as by transferring some of those assets to their personal account, this becomes embezzlement. It is often followed by doctoring the books or changing financial statements to try to make the numbers match and cover up the theft.
If you are facing allegations of embezzlement, it can be very complex. Your future hangs in the balance. Be sure you know exactly what legal defense options you have.