Sometimes, employees in Mississippi end up stealing from the businesses that employs them. Depending on the specific circumstances revolving around the action, it may be criminally charged as employee theft or embezzlement.
Employee theft
Most people are familiar with the term theft. It’s defined as stealing another’s property with no intention of giving it back. When theft happens by an employee, it’s considered employee theft under criminal law. An example of this would be a retail employee who steals money out of another employee’s register. In this case, the employee was not authorized to have access to the register or the money that was inside of it.
Embezzlement
When it comes to embezzlement, the main difference is that an employee was entrusted with the care of the asset that they stole. For example, say that a manager of a store is entrusted with taking the cash from the safe and depositing it into the bank account of the business. Instead of depositing all the money, the employee takes out some of the money and pockets it. This is considered embezzlement because the employee was entrusted with the care of the money, and they misappropriated it for their personal gain.
In both types of criminal acts, the value of the assets that were stolen helps to determine the repercussions that the offender faces. For example, if assets are valued over $100,000, it’s likely that the penalty is going to be much worse than assets that are valued at $100. The specific consequences will vary depending on the state.
Defending against criminal charges
Understanding the difference between employee theft and embezzlement is a necessity so that you know what the consequences are of your actions if you get accused of committing one of these offenses. If you’ve been charged with either one of these criminal acts, it’s a good idea to hire an attorney to assist you with your case.