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Criminal defense
Long Beach Embezzlement Defense Lawyer
Embezzlement cases usually begin inside a business, with an audit and an accusation, before any police report exists. What happens in those first weeks often matters more than what happens in court. The consultation is free.
Patrick S. AguirreCriminal defense attorney · Long BeachCallback request
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The charge
What Penal Code 503 requires
Penal Code 503 defines embezzlement in one sentence: the fraudulent appropriation of property by a person to whom it has been entrusted. The distinguishing feature is that the property came into the person’s hands lawfully. A cashier, a bookkeeper, a manager with a company card, a contractor holding a deposit, or a family member on a bank account all have lawful possession, which is why embezzlement is charged where an ordinary theft charge would not fit.
The element that carries the case is fraudulent intent at the moment of the appropriation. Using entrusted property in a way the owner did not authorise is not a crime unless it was done with the intent to defraud. Penal Code 504 covers the same conduct by public officers and by officers, agents, and employees of corporations and associations. In practice embezzlement is prosecuted as theft under Penal Code 484, so the value thresholds and the grand-theft line apply to it.
Sources: Penal Code 503 — embezzlement defined; Penal Code 504 — public officers, agents, and employees of associations and corporations; Penal Code 484(a) — embezzlement is prosecuted as theft.
The exposure
What the amount does to the case
Below $950 the offense is generally a misdemeanor; above it, grand theft, a wobbler that can be charged as a felony. Because embezzlement is usually a series of transactions rather than one, the prosecution will try to aggregate them into a single total under a theory of a continuing scheme, and whether the transactions can properly be aggregated is a real issue rather than an accounting formality.
At the top end, Penal Code 186.11, the aggravated white collar crime enhancement, applies to a pattern of related felony conduct involving fraud or embezzlement with losses exceeding $100,000, adding substantial additional terms and allowing pretrial freezing of assets. Where that allegation appears, the case is a different kind of case and needs to be treated as one immediately.
Sources: Penal Code 487(a) — grand theft above $950; Penal Code 490.2 — theft of $950 or less; Penal Code 186.11 — the aggravated white collar crime enhancement.
Restitution
Paying it back, and why that is not simple
Repaying the money does not undo the offense and does not by itself end a prosecution. It can matter a great deal to how a case is resolved, because restitution is mandatory on conviction under Penal Code 1202.4 and a defendant who has already made the victim whole has removed the prosecution’s main practical objective.
The danger is the sequence. Employers and their lawyers frequently ask for a written admission, a signed promissory note, or a recorded interview as the price of not calling the police, and then call the police anyway. Those documents become the evidence. Nothing should be signed, written, or said to an employer, an auditor, a forensic accountant, or an insurer before getting advice, and an offer to repay should be made through counsel if it is made at all.
Sources: Penal Code 1202.4(f) — victim restitution is mandatory on conviction; Penal Code 1203.4(c)(3) — an unpaid restitution order is not a ground to deny a later dismissal.
The defense
How embezzlement cases are defended
Intent is the centre of almost every defensible case. There is a real difference between fraud and a genuine belief that the use was authorised, a practice the employer had tolerated for years, a commission or expense dispute, a loan everyone understood was a loan, or sloppy bookkeeping by someone who was never trained. A claim of right to the money, even a mistaken one, negates the fraudulent intent the statute requires.
Then the accounting. These cases rest on records, and the prosecution’s total is frequently built by an interested party: an employer with a civil claim, an insurer, or a forensic accountant retained by them. Independent examination of the ledgers regularly shows that the loss includes authorised transactions, duplicate entries, other employees’ activity on shared logins, or amounts outside the charging period.
Where the conduct is not seriously in dispute, the objects are keeping the case out of felony territory, defeating the aggregation and the Penal Code 186.11 allegation, structuring restitution, and protecting a professional licence and immigration status, because embezzlement is a crime of moral turpitude with consequences well beyond the sentence.
The office
How the Law Offices of Patrick S. Aguirre handles these cases
The office has defended theft and fraud cases in Long Beach and across Los Angeles County for nearly three decades. Embezzlement matters often arrive before charges are filed, while an internal investigation is running, and that is the point at which the most can be done: controlling what is said, testing the employer’s numbers, and where appropriate presenting the case to the prosecutor before a filing decision is made.
A parallel civil suit by the employer is common, and the two cases have to be handled with each other in mind, because anything said in the civil case can be used in the criminal one. The firm has offices in Long Beach and Downey and speaks Spanish.
Frequently asked questions
Common questions
If I pay the money back, will the charges be dropped?
Not automatically. The decision belongs to the prosecutor, and repayment does not undo a completed offense. It can still matter to the outcome, because restitution is mandatory on conviction and a victim who has been made whole often has less interest in the prosecution. Any repayment should be arranged through a lawyer, not directly.
My employer wants me to sign a statement and says they will not call the police.
Do not sign it. Those documents are regularly used as confessions afterwards, and the promise not to report is not enforceable. The same applies to recorded interviews with HR, auditors, or an insurance investigator. Get advice before saying or writing anything.
Is embezzlement a felony?
It depends on the amount and the record. Embezzlement is prosecuted as theft, so above $950 it can be charged as grand theft, a wobbler that may be a felony or a misdemeanor; at or below $950 it is generally a misdemeanor, subject to the exceptions in Penal Code 490.2. Where a pattern of related conduct exceeds $100,000, the Penal Code 186.11 enhancement can apply.
I never took cash. Can it still be embezzlement?
Yes. The statute covers property of any kind that was entrusted to you, which includes inventory, equipment, materials, gift cards, and services billed but not performed. What matters is entrustment and fraudulent appropriation, not the form the property took.
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Meet your attorney
Law Offices of Patrick S. Aguirre
A Professional Law Corporation
The future of your case may depend on a successful outcome. It can be stressful to go through the legal process alone—but thankfully, you don’t have to.
The Law Offices of Patrick S. Aguirre will stand up for clients’ interests and rights, providing high-quality representation in personal injury cases and criminal defense matters throughout California from its Long Beach office.
We work with you and for your best interests. Our legal team is compassionate, hard-working, and tenacious—fighting to get the job done right when it matters most. No case is too complicated or insignificant for our full attention. Our clients may move forward into a brighter future free from worry about past mistakes.
We’re the legal team that never gives up. When you need an attorney who will fight for what’s right, turn to us, and we’ll do everything in our power to help. No matter how challenging your situation may seem, there is hope.
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Thank you.
The office received your contact request. If your matter is urgent, call 562-904-4337.