Compelling Evidence in a New York Embezzlement Defense

The New York Sentencing Guidelines help determine a person's sentence. The law basically states that if a person is convicted of a certain crime, here is the range for sentencing. It is not up to the discretion of the judge to go beneath the range.

The judge can sentence a person within that range depending on their conduct, their criminal history, and depending on the impact of the crime upon the victim. However, it is possible to mitigate your sentence, with the help of a capable embezzlement attorney. A qualified lawyer can find compelling evidence in a New York embezzlement defense and use it to bolster your case.

Sentencing Without Guidelines

In terms of the guidelines, the guidelines are the guidelines. The judge cannot deviate from that. If a charged person wants to deviate out of those guidelines, they have to convince the district attorney to do so or alternatively dismiss the case.

The only way to break out of the sentencing guidelines is to convince the prosecutor that an offer should be made to decrease a person's potential exposure. The reasons for not using the embezzlement guidelines may vary and include:

If the person is a good person and they made a mistake

If the person made restitution

If the prosecution’s case is not as strong as they think it is

If the defense attorney has done a good job of challenging the evidence

There are many reasons why the prosecutor might agree to not abide by the guidelines, and that is why a charged person should retain an experienced attorney who knows how to poke holes in an embezzlement case. Or, in the alternative, but not mutually exclusive, present the strongest case as to why the person deserves the benefit of the doubt.

Amount Embezzled as Evidence in a Defense

One bit of compelling evidence in a New York embezzlement defense is the amount that the prosecutor alleges that the defendant embezzled, and the methods the prosecutor used to reach that an amount.

For example, if the victim company states a loss of $700,000 and shows the documents with transactions, invoices, withdrawals, deposits; the defense attorney would ask the prosecutor to explain how each one of those cited transactions relates to or ties back to the defendant. The defense could then question whether that number is fabricated or not, or whether it could be an otherwise honest misinterpretation by the victim.

If that line of defense and questioning is effective, an attorney can ask another set of questions, including:

What corroboration does the prosecutor have that these transactions really occurred

Could someone have pulled it off in that way?

Are the figures accurate?

Is the company being investigated?

Has the company committed any fraud or misrepresentation outside of these allegations against a defendant?

Company Committing Fraud

There is always the possibility that the company is trying to cover themselves by accusing the defendant of maybe only stealing $70,000 but make it seem like they stole $800,000 or $600,000 or $300,000 because the company is up to no good.

Even if that is not the case, if the company is up to no good, the defense attorney should approach the prosecutor for trying to pin this on the defendant because the company is the one who is perpetrating a fraud. For example, the company could be committing tax fraud, moving money where it should not be moving money, writing things off it should not be writing off,  and in lieu of the company getting caught, the blame will be directed to the defendant.

This strategy may put pressure on the District Attorney's case and cause the court to question the veracity of what the complainant is saying. Any tactic along these lines can be useful to limit or minimize exposure in these crimes.

Importance of an Attorney

Contacting an attorney should be one of the first steps you should take after being charged with embezzlement. Your lawyer can help you find ways to make your case. One example is mitigation in terms of who you are as a person, which can also come into play. Awards, honors, commendations, community work, volunteer work, involvement in the community, etc. can serve as compelling evidence in a New York embezzlement defense.

This information, combined with things like your ability to make restitution, can help mitigate the penalties that you face. By working with a qualified embezzlement attorney, you can rest assured that someone is advocating for you.

Call the New York Controlled Substance Defense Lawyers and Former Manhattan Prosecutors at (212) 312-7129 or contact us online today.