Embezzlement Attorneys Fighting to Shut Down Any Investigations or Charges Against You
Simply put, embezzlement is the theft of money from an employer. Embezzlement charges can result in serious penalties depending on the value of the property stolen. Penalties may include confinement in a county jail, state prison or federal prison. These crimes are often prosecuted quite aggressively as a result of the court system hoping to make examples out of those who commit any white collar crimes.
In recent history, the justice system has been very lenient on white collar crime, typically letting people who are convicted of these crimes get away with only a slap on the wrist such as probation, restitution, or very light jail sentences in minimum security facilities. This leniency caused outrage with average blue collar workers, leading them to believe that wealthy individuals can get away with theft crimes, while the poor and middle class are thrown in jail.
Today, white collar crimes such as embezzlement are punished more severely than ever as a result of our court system striving to prove it is unbiased. Therefore, not only are CEO’s who are accused of stealing millions of dollars seriously penalized, but so are low ranking employees who may be accused of stealing only a few hundred or a few thousand dollars. Some recent examples include the very severe sentences dealt out to individuals involved in those corporate scandals such as Enron, Worldcom, and Tyco.
Despite the “tough on white collar crime” attitude of most prosecutors and courts, embezzlement remains the single best candidate for an out of court resolution, if we are able to intervene before an aggressive prosecutor gets a hold of your case. Therefore, an out of court resolution is only possible if we are able to begin defending you immediately and proactively. The embezzlement lawyers at Stewart, Schmidlin, Bullock & Gourley, PLLC, have a tremendous success rate when it comes to the prevention of criminal charges in embezzlement cases. The vast majority of clients who were accused of embezzlement but not yet charged, and went on to hire our legal team were able to avoid criminal charges. Your chances for avoiding criminal charges rely mainly on how quickly you hire a criminal defense attorney to defend you and intercept any allegations from turning into formal charges.
Typical Embezzlement Investigation Process: Most employers intimidate an employee who is accused of embezzlement into signing a confession as soon as they are accused. Signing such a document is a huge mistake. Employers claim this confession is in your best interest; however this confession will only make it easier to prosecute you in the future. After being accused, the next step is usually a phone call from the employer requesting a “meeting.” Our criminal defense lawyers at Stewart, Schmidlin, Bullock & Gourley, PLLC, have handled many embezzlement cases and cannot stress enough the importance of this meeting. This meeting is usually our client’s best shot at avoiding jail. Anything you say at the meeting can be used against you later, and many times these meetings are conducted by professionals who are experts at getting you to make statements that will be damaging to you. These professionals are usually not government agents and therefore are not required to read you your rights or guarantee any of your constitutional rights are protected. In addition, law enforcement may show up at this meeting and simply arrest you. This is why having an embezzlement lawyer is so crucial. Our embezzlement attorneys will be there every step of the way so you don’t have to make ANY statements whatsoever. We will be speaking on your behalf so it will be impossible for you to say anything incriminating.
Many employers do not fully realize that they are unlikely to collect any money if they call the police. If you are prosecuted for embezzlement, you may be court ordered to repay any money through a judgment, and judgments are rarely paid. If our embezzlement attorneys are given the opportunity to make alternate arrangements, we may be able to convince the employer that an informal resolution may result in recovering money, while charges of embezzlement will not.
Another consideration for employers to be aware of is their own company’s reputation. The alleged scandal could damage the reputation of the company, and it may very well be in their best interest to keep any such accusations private. Our embezzlement lawyers are highly trained in conducting such negotiations and using them to get you the best possible result.
In the unfortunate event that you do not retain an attorney in time, and as a result are charged with embezzlement or other white collar crime, our white collar crime attorneys can still help you. If the evidence against you is weak, it is possible for our firm to get the charges completely dismissed, or lowered to something much lesser that won’t carry the same penalties. When it comes to white collar crimes or embezzlement charges, the courtroom has more discretion than in other crimes such as violent crimes, sex crimes or even drug crimes. Our attorneys fight to ensure our clients get a “slap on the wrist” such as probation or restitution and do everything in their power to avoid being sent to prison. Our criminal defense attorneys have consistently achieved phenomenal results for our clients, even in seemingly difficult cases. If you’ve been accused or charged with embezzlement or any white collar crime, please contact the criminal defense lawyers at Stewart, Schmidlin, Bullock & Gourley, PLLC, IMMEDIATELY so that we may act quickly and have a strong chance at getting the kind of outcome you desire.
If you want the best in knowledgeable legal representation & a criminal law firm that will treat your case with consideration and concern, please contact us at 919-989-8900 for a FREE confidential consultation.