Legal Question in Criminal Law in California

Re: Grand Theft

You posted this as a criminal law question, but the boss's offer to settle sounds like she has a civil lawsuit in mind. What she proposes is a legitimate means to settle the company's civil claims against you, and you should have an attorney prepare a settlement agreement for her to sign (or review any agreement she gives you to sign) before you finalize the deal.

Bear in mind that you can be sued civilly and prosecuted criminally for the same act, so settling the civil case will not necessarily mean you are out of danger. The facts you have provided are not clear about whether you are facing both kinds of actions.

If your boss brought in actual detectives (who are specially-trained police officers) to investigate then they are contemplating a criminal case. However, if these people were actually private investigators, then they are helping the company prepare the civil case. (This also suggests that the amount missing is quite large, since a small case would not justify the cost of multiple investigators.) Normally, detectives don't help the victim build a case; they help the prosecutor build one. This is why I'm not sure whether they actually are detectives as you say. Terminology matters here and I think you may have used the word loosely.

If the prosecutor is preparing a case against you then a civil settlement with the company will not stop the criminal prosecution. If charges are brought against you then the one prosecuting you will be the state and not the company. The company has no authority to stop a prosecution, though as a practical matter prosecutors will often let relatively minor cases go if the victim tells them that she has settled with the defendant. But prosecutors will seldom drop a major case when the victim is satisfied, because their duty is to represent the interests of the general public; letting a serious criminal escape prosecution because the victim has accepted a settlement would not protect the public the same way imprisonment would.

You should probably arrange a face-to-face consultation with a criminal attorney to review the facts in depth so you can be better informed about your options.

Re: Grand Theft

Asking for you to give up pay you rightfully have earned may not be legal, and forcing you to do so is blatantly illegal. I don't think you will find any attorney who will answer no to the question regarding whether or not you should seek counsel. An attorney can protect you from any damaging arguments or admissions, and fight them by demanding they produce proof of your alleged wrongdoings if they have anything.

I hope this helps, but email or call if you have other questions. Good luck to you.

Re: Grand Theft

I have to disagree with Mr. Miller here, even though his answers usually strike me as quite correct.

It is surely illegal for an employer to force someone to forego pay they have earned, but that is not what is happening here. Your employer has proposed a civil settlement which you are free to reject. You can then claim your pay and take your chances in court.

The fact that the settlement proposal involves earnings you have yet to receive is not terribly relevant. Money is money, and I'm sure Mr. Miller would agree with me that a proposal calling for an equal amount to be paid out of your pocket would be perfectly fine. The fact that this proposal involves holding onto money you are owed rather than receiving money already in your possession does not change anything from a legal standpoint; all it does is assure the company that you cannot renege on the deal.

I do agree with Mr. Miller that you should evaluate the strength of the company's case before you decide whether to settle and on what terms. My prior answer did not urge you to accept the proposal; it merely said that the proposal was legitimate and that you could accept it as a means of getting rid of the civil (but not necessarily the criminal) aspects of the case. That is all your question asked; it did not ask whether you should accept the deal and did not offer enough facts for an attorney to say whether the deal was worth taking or not.

Re: Grand Theft

IT is illegal to demand [extort] money under threat of criminal prosecution, so tell the police what she is doing. IF you are charged, you will need to hire an attorney. You could use one now to help try to avoid being charged. Contact me if interested in doing so. The goal would be to get this all dropped and let you move on.

Re: Grand Theft

Your facts are not abuntantly clear, but it sounds as though your boss is asking you to pay her or else she'll try to have you charged with a crime. That is disgusting and ABSOLUTLELY ILLEGAL.

If it's merely, "hey, i think you owe me some money, let's just settle our dispute for X dollars" that's okay.