How these cases usually unfold
Most embezzlement cases begin inside the business, with an audit, a bank alert, or a new employee who notices something a predecessor handled alone. The employer often brings in forensic accountants, makes a claim under a crime or fidelity insurance policy, and decides whether to report to police. In New York, the conduct people call embezzlement is generally prosecuted as larceny, with the degree depending largely on the amount alleged, and related counts such as falsifying business records are common. Federal charges are possible when the money belonged to a bank, an employee benefit plan, or a program receiving federal funds. Civil suits to recover the money can run alongside the criminal case or after it.
For the employer
Preserve the accounting system, bank statements, email accounts, and devices of the people involved before anyone is confronted, and cut off access in a way that does not destroy records. Notify your insurer promptly, since crime policies typically carry notice and proof-of-loss requirements on their own schedule. Avoid informal deals in which the employee repays on the condition that you do not report; accepting money in exchange for withholding a criminal complaint can create legal problems for the employer. A loss calculation built from records will carry more weight with prosecutors, insurers, and courts than an estimate.
For the person accused
If you have been accused, do not discuss the money with your employer, coworkers, or the company's investigators until you have counsel, even if you want to explain or offer to pay it back. Repayment can matter a great deal, but how and when it is offered should be decided carefully. Keep your own pay records and personal messages that show who approved what, and ask before taking anything from company systems. In a first meeting we review what the employer has alleged, what records exist on both sides, and whether a police report has been filed, and we plan for the criminal and civil sides together.
