Legal Question in Criminal Law in California

Re: Forgery, fraud, embezzlement...which is it?

Thank you for your inquiry, and I am sorry to hear about your present situation.

I believe that you conceivably can have charges for all three crimes you listed, forgery (for the checks), fraud or theft under fraudulent pretenses, and embezzlement, based upon your employment with the company.

Amounts over $400 at issue normally are filed as a felony. It's almost impossible to predict what the district attorney will charge, and I have even seem some creative DAs charge cases such as yours as "burglary" charges, but as a felony, you could be looking at a prison sentence of up to 3 years, maximum, per charge, or more. Each crime in the State has a minimum and maximum, and the mimimum may include a suspended sentence, meaning no jail time, or conversion of part of a sentence to community service or a work program.

Actual restitution, formal probation, and potential jail are all possibilities here -- IF you plead guilty to the exact charges, or IF the prosecutor proves each element of the case and charges against you to a jury beyond a reasonable doubt. It's the prosecutors burden to do so.

I hope this helps, and I've tried my best to answer your question, even with limited information. If you have questions, want further information, or need representation, I'm happy to help in any way that I can, so please feel free to contact me via email at [email protected], or via phone at 1-877-568-2977 (toll free), and best of luck to you.

Re: Forgery, fraud, embezzlement...which is it?

You should immediately hire counsel to help you negotiate and avoid, if possible, criminal charges, and to stay out of jail. Contact me if interested in discussing your options.

Re: Forgery, fraud, embezzlement...which is it?

Sounds like a very serious case. Please give our offices a call at 1-866-You-Are_innocent in order to set up a free consultation immediately.