Severity of a New York Embezzlement Charge

Prosecutors treat New York embezzlement cases incredibly harshly. This is partly because white collar crime is at the forefront of American consciousness in recent years, because the amounts of money at issue tend to be enormous, and because identifying and catching perpetrators of white collar crime is much more difficult than street crime, which means that the punishments need to be more sever on average to effectively dissuade would be perpetrators from committing these kinds of complex financial crimes. Just because an individual may be a hedge funder, working in the financial sector, a tech start up, or any other sort of white collar worker, it does not mean that the court will take the charge lightly. Just the opposite, it is likely that a state or federal court will take these kinds of charges much more seriously than a similar amount of money being stolen in a more traditional, less sophisticated way.

Due to the severity of a embezzlement related charges, an individual should not hesitate before contacting an experienced attorney. A theft attorney in New York can build a case to help minimize or dismiss any potential penalties associated with your charge, help to craft and design an effective defense strategy, and negotiate with prosecutors in an attempt to get some guarantees of minimal impact on you and your future.

The crime of embezzlement can severely damage a victimized business or individual, perhaps irreparably so. The smaller the business and the more money that is being stolen and misappropriated, the more it can directly impact an individual’s business endeavors and their viability going forward. Many business, even large ones, operate on razor thin margins and the slightest disruption or theft can throw the entire thing off kilter, resulting in serious repercussion for the individual or business, and even harsher treatment by the courts and prosecutor of the accused.

The DA’s office, police, and judges are often very harsh in their positions and opinions when it comes to these kinds of financial crimes, whether it is in terms of setting exorbitant bail, imposing lengthy prison sentences, imposing excessive fines on top of restitution, or impacting the person’s record to a great extent.

Of course, none of this means the person has been proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, but in this context a person may often feel like the burden is on them to prove their innocence rather than the other way around, so harsh is the immediate response and impact of being brought into the criminal justice system. Because courts and the district attorney handling such a case will often be heavy handed with their attitudes toward the case, especially with respect to sentencing and other penalties, an individual should secure legal representation as soon as possible.

In terms of the uniqueness of an embezzlement crime, the laws are different in every state. There are perhaps more unique factors, and these charges may be more prevalent, in New York City because of Wall Street. There are more hedge funds and financial industries in the city, which can contribute to the severity with which these kinds of embezzlement crimes are dealt with in the state, as compared to other cities and towns throughout the country.

Another aspect of embezzlement crimes is that a person may have stolen something or committed a crime in this state, and if the individual flees the state, they can still be extradited back to New York to face the consequences of their crime. Just because the person is not physically in the state does not mean that the theft did not occur here, and it does not mean that they will not be arrested and brought back to face charges. In addition, because of Wall Street, New York is able to effectively extend its jurisdiction over people throughout the country and even the world given how many financial transactions and schemes pass through the city. For example, American Express is based in here. If a person is using an American Express card to commit these crimes and American Express is a victim of the fraud, there can be jurisdiction in New York for the crimes associated with those fraudulent transactions.

New York has huge abilities and capacities to exert its law and authority over others. Due to this, the severity of an embezzlement crime is substantial, and any individual facing a charge should contact an experienced lawyer as soon as possible.

Call the criminal defense attorneys and former Manhattan prosecutors at (212) 312-7129 or contact us online today.