An Embezzlement-Specialized Attorney's Defense Case | Embezzlement Attorney Who Obtained a Non-Referral Decision for a Client in an Occupational Embezzlement Matter

The charge the client was facing was ‘occupational embezzlement.’

Where a person who keeps another's property in the course of business unlawfully disposes of it or refuses to return it, occupational embezzlement is established.

Elements of Occupational Embezzlement

At this point, the principal issue was whether an ‘intent of unlawful acquisition,’ that is, an intent to dispose of the property on one's own without authority, treating it as if it were one's own, existed.

After organizing the principal issues set out above, the embezzlement-specialized attorney established a strategy to deny the charge against the client.

If occupational embezzlement is established and the suspicion is found, the following penalties for embezzlement may be imposed under Article 356 of the Criminal Act.

The case originated from a criminal complaint filed by the client's former spouse.

However, the complainant had already disposed of all of the company's shares long before and was no longer a shareholder, yet filed the complaint while claiming to be a shareholder.

In response, the embezzlement defense attorney emphasized that since the complainant was not a shareholder, the complainant had no standing to file a criminal complaint, and that even if the facts were subject to dispute, the matter should be handled only as an accusation rather than as a criminal complaint.

The investigative agency accepted this argument, and the matter was converted from a complaint case into an accusation case.

The next issue was the suspected structure asserted by the accuser of purchasing gift certificates, converting them into cash, and then repaying provisional payments.

The accuser claimed that the client converted gift certificates into cash to reduce provisional payments that were in the nature of a personal debt, but the account records obtained by the embezzlement defense attorney showed otherwise.

The amounts actually deposited into the corporate account and the changes in the provisional payment account did not exactly match the accuser's claims, and a substantial portion of the funds that flowed into the company account during the same period was confirmed to have originated from funds in the client's personal account or from financial support provided by the client's current spouse.

In other words, it was possible to demonstrate that the accuser's claim that the conversion of gift certificates into cash directly led to embezzlement lacked sufficient basis.

Lastly, the embezzlement defense attorney emphasized that there was no intent to unlawfully obtain the property, which is a requirement for the establishment of occupational embezzlement.

Occupational embezzlement requires an intent to dispose of another person's property as if it were one's own, but the client's conduct was instead a measure to secure operating funds for the company.

A review of the actual deposit records showed that the client did not take any personal benefit and instead steadily added funds and deposited them into the corporate account.

Accordingly, it was made clear that the client's conduct was merely a process of circulating funds for the company's management and could not be regarded as personal misappropriation or an intent to unlawfully obtain the property, as the accuser claimed.

In the case of occupational embezzlement, even an attempt may be subject to a penalty for embezzlement, so it is necessary to mount an active defense from the early stage of the case in order to be clearly cleared of the suspicion.

At Daeryun LLC, through a dedicated consultation attorney system, the firm clearly identifies the matter and its issues and establishes the direction of the initial response through analysis of similar cases.

Thereafter, a dedicated attorney is assigned according to the type of case and its specific field, making it possible to provide detailed assistance from accompaniment at the police investigation and adjustment of the direction of statements through to the trial stage.

If you have been wrongfully implicated in a criminal case, please feel free to entrust your case to us at any time through a 🔗legal consultation appointment.