Hiring an embezzlement defense attorney should be the first thing you do if you’ve been accused of this crime. It doesn’t matter if you’re innocent or guilty: you need somebody to help you through this situation to stop you from incriminating yourself further. There are many situations that may arise where you’ll need to hire an attorney for this, so let’s look at them below.
5 Situations to Hire an Embezzlement Defense Attorney
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1. You’ve Been Falsely Accused
Your attorney will never jump to conclusions when you hire them to defend you. However, you can’t say the same about your boss or co-workers. If one person within your company accuses you of embezzlement, even if the evidence is nonexistent or weak, then your job could be on the line and you’ll be facing a lawsuit that could ruin your life for the foreseeable future.
An attorney will be able to gather evidence in your favor to prove that you haven’t actually been embezzling. They may even be able to prove that the co-worker who accused you is the one who’s been embezzling the entire time. Needless to say, if you’re innocent, you need an attorney to prove you haven’t committed this white-collar crime.
2. You’ve Been Unknowingly Embezzling
There are many things that count as embezzlement in the workplace. Stealing petty cash, stealing materials or merchandise, and even stealing food if you work in a restaurant, all count as embezzlement. Hiring an attorney can help you prove that you didn’t know that what you are doing counted as embezzlement, and therefore they may be able to get you a lesser charge for your crimes.
You may even have been committing and based on a misunderstanding or miscommunication within your company. This is difficult to prove, but embezzlement defense lawyers in Houston will do everything they can to argue your side of the case to reduce your sentence as much as possible if you truly were mistaken or simply unaware of the severity of your crimes in this situation.
3. You’ve Associated Yourself with Embezzling Coworkers
If you know your co-workers have been embezzling and you’ve been covering it up or ignoring it, then you’re an accessory to the crime. You should hire an attorney to defend you immediately. Proving you weren’t embezzling as soon as possible is vital. You don’t want to jeopardize your career or your future. However, that’s not the only time you should hire an attorney when one of your co-workers has been embezzling.
If someone you’re friends with, or someone you work on a team with, has been caught embezzling or has admitted to it, then you should get yourself an attorney, too. Your co-workers may attempt to throw you under the bus to lessen their own sentences, or perhaps your boss will assume everyone on your team or within your workplace friend group has been committing the same crimes. Your attorney can help prove you are not a liable party.
4. You’ve Been Caught in a Bigger Embezzlement Scam
Not everyone who commits an embezzlement crime will set out to do it all by themselves. You may have simply been swept up in something your co-workers have been doing for years. For example, retail workers may find all of their co-workers keep returned items or overcharge for items and keep the extra money. You may not have thought twice about this because it was so normalized by your co-workers, and your attorney may point this out in your defense
Another way you may have been caught in a bigger investment scam is if another co-worker came up with the idea and simply asked you to be a part of it as they believed it could benefit you or the group as a whole. You can’t rely on one attorney to defend you and your co-workers as a group. Hire one for yourself to make sure there’s someone advocating for you and only you, as you want to protect yourself as much as you can.
5. You’ve Actually Been Embezzling
Not everyone who needs an embezzlement attorney is completely innocent. Sometimes people knowingly commit embezzlement entirely of their own free will. That said, not every person’s situation is the exact same, so it’s still possible for an attorney to get you a lesser sentence for your crimes. There’s no guarantee, but attempting to lower your sentence is better than giving up and not trying at all.
As you can see, it’s not just people who are actually guilty of embezzlement on their own that need an attorney to defend them. Making sure you have a lawyer on your side regardless of the situation will help you come out of your case in the best shape possible. Never take a risk, and ensure that you have somebody defending you going into any embezzlement case no matter what the circumstances behind it are.
