If you are under investigation for any kind of crime, it is crucial to be informed about what’s going on. This does not just apply to what you are going to tell the police. It means you also need to understand what charges you might face.
Some crimes that can seem similar can have very different consequences if you were to be convicted. One that people often underestimate is embezzlement. They think it is just another form of saying you stole something, albeit from someone you know.
Embezzlement requires a breach of trust
Let’s say the police wrongly accuse you of stealing money from your restaurant employer. The boss found that money was missing and believed one of their employees must have taken it out of the till. For whatever reason, they suspect you.
If you had nothing to do with handling money and only ever cooked in the kitchen, then technically you should only face charges of theft. Exceptions might be if the owner left you the keys to lock up because they trusted you. If however, your job did involve operating the cash register, then it might warrant embezzlement charges.
The key difference between the two examples is that with embezzlement, you are alleged to have stolen something your employer entrusted you with. They trusted you with the very thing they are alleging you stole.
Both charges can have serious consequences if a conviction results, so it is best to get legal help to defend against them and guard against the possibility of the prosecution inflating theft charges to embezzlement which carries worse penalties.