Texas Felony Embezzlement: Laws, Punishment & Sentencing

Is embezzlement a felony or a misdemeanor crime in Texas?

Texas embezzlement & theft laws

Texas embezzlement laws are found in Texas Penal Code, Title 7, Chapter 31. Under those laws, embezzlement is grouped within the broader category of “theft.” But what does Texas law mean by theft?

The crime of embezzlement generally is considered to be theft—that is, theft for financial gain by an employee or someone who’d been entrusted with safeguarding someone else’s money or goods.

Such theft as embezzlement can include cases where an employee:

• Takes money from a cash register
• Steals services or goods from an employer, such as items stocked in a store
• Transfers money from an employer’s corporate or business account to the defendant’s personal account
• Alters a business’s records or books in some way to conceal income to an employer—income that the defendant then takes
• Uses a corporate credit card for excessive personal use

Embezzlement theft is considered a white collar crime. White collar crimes do not involve force, violence or the threat of violence, but rather lying, cheating, deception or what is known as fraud.

Theft as a form of fraud means deliberately deceiving an entity (such as a business) or a person for monetary or personal gain. That can involve gaining something of value (property or money) via deceitful or misleading conduct, such as making misrepresentations or false statements.

Embezzlement theft can also refer to elder abuse, as when a person who is entrusted with managing an elderly person’s finances takes some of that money illegally.

Other types of embezzlement and fraud include:

• Government/tax fraud
• Healthcare/medicare fraud
• Securities fraud and financial schemes
• Bank/mortgage fraud

Besides breaking Texas laws, embezzlement can also be a federal charge, as found in 18 U.S. Code Chapter 31.

Penalties for a Texas felony embezzlement charge

In Texas, the penalties for a felony embezzlement charge can vary widely, depending on the individual circumstances and the nature of the crime, such as the amount that was stolen. Here are some examples:

• For misdemeanor embezzlement, when the amount stolen is up to $1,500, the penalty can be a sentence of as much as 1 year in jail.
• When embezzlement involves $1,500 to $20,000 stolen, it is deemed a “state jail felony,” and the penalties or punishments can include up to 2 years in a state jail.
• A third-degree embezzlement felony involves theft of $20,000 to $100,000 and can bring a sentence of 2 to 10 years in state prison.
• A second-degree embezzlement felony involves theft of $100,000 to $200,000 and can bring a sentence of 2 to 20 years in state prison.
• A first-degree embezzlement felony involves theft of over $200,000 and can bring a state prison sentence of 5 to 99 years.

As you can see, the severity of an embezzlement felony sentence depends on the amount of money stolen. The more money that is stolen, the more severe the charge is and, consequently, the more harsh the punishment can be.

In addition to jail time, embezzlement punishments can include fines. For a state jail felony or a first-degree, second-degree or third-degree embezzlement felony, such fines can be up to $10,000.

What to do if you’re accused of embezzlement

But here’s where you should exercise extreme caution: If you’re accused, your employer will likely ask for an “interview” with you to confront you with the presumed facts of their claim. At that point, you should indicate that you want your lawyer present for such a process.

And keep in mind that you can say this even if you don’t yet have a lawyer.

Then, go get one—perhaps by contacting the Neal Davis Law Firm.

Even then, you should realize that anything you say to your employer might be used against you later in court if your case goes to trial. So be sure to get an experienced attorney before saying anything to your employer or accuser.

Your attorney may then advise you to say nothing to your employer but, rather, simply listen to the nature of the accusation.

In any event, you should reach out to a defense lawyer immediately when accused of embezzlement.

Defenses against a felony embezzlement charge

Clearly, felony embezzlement charges in Texas are a very serious matter and require a skilled, knowledgeable and experienced criminal defense lawyer such as Neal Davis.

Houston’s Neal Davis Law Firm can defend you or a loved one against such charges by working to avoid indictments, by getting charges reduced or dismissed, or by winning an acquittal from a jury if the case goes to trial.

One thing on your side is the fact that the burden of proof is on the prosecution. In court, prosecutors must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that an employee took money, goods or services without the owner’s permission.

Beyond that, your Houston-area embezzlement defense lawyer or attorney can provide such defenses as the following:

• Intent. Establishing that there was no intent on the defendant’s part to deprive an owner or their property
• Consent. Establishing that overt or tacit consent was given by the property’s owner for the defendant to have the funds, goods or services
• Mistake. Establishing that the defendant simply made a math error and did not intend to alter a company’s or a business’s records in order to hide income

If police have not yet been involved, a skilled embezzlement defense lawyer may also apply certain strategies to resolve the matter without your employer reporting it to the police.

For instance, if a certain amount of merchandise is involved, your defense attorney can arrange to have it returned to the employer and thus avoid a report to the police or a criminal charge.

But if a criminal charge does ensue, your lawyer may be able to get the charge reduced or even dropped so you don’t have to face jail time. This may mean arranging to get a felony charge reduced to a misdemeanor. It may also mean substituting community service for jail time.

In fact, if a charge can be reduced to a minor offense, it may mean you’ll have no criminal charge against you on your record. That’s important, since having a criminal record can greatly hamper your employment opportunities, among other things—even if you’re acquitted.

By learning much about you, your defense attorney may be able to argue that the embezzlement was a misunderstanding or a one-time event that will not happen again.

For instance, perhaps you took money or merchandise from an employer because you faced a serious financial setback at that time. This can be taken into account as a survival motive.

Or, if you took money from your employer to finance an addiction to drugs or gambling, your defense attorney may be able to arrange help for you to handle such crises, perhaps through counseling or therapy. This can demonstrate that you want to proceed in good faith, and it may limit your exposure to criminal charges.

With maximum punishments for a charge ranging from 1 year in jail to 99 years in prison, depending on the charge, reducing a charge is clearly very important to avoiding lengthy jail time and, in some cases, high fines.

Why hire a Houston embezzlement defense lawyer?

Houston embezzlement defense lawyer Neal Davis understands that embezzlement is a document-intensive crime. He can use financial consultants, computer experts and other means to help establish your innocence.

For legal services in Houston, Harris County, Fort Bend County or Montgomery County, contact the Neal Davis Law Firm today. We can provide you with a confidential legal review of your case. Then, you can decide if you want to engage veteran embezzlement defense attorney Neal Davis.

Contact us today at the Neal Davis Law Firm, and we can start with a legal review of your case.