If you have been accused of embezzlement, your employer may say that you were stealing money from the company for your own personal gain. They say they can prove it by producing financial records that show you transferred money from the business accounts into your personal accounts.
However, you may argue that you were authorized to access those accounts. Perhaps you worked as a financial officer at the company. You were granted full access to the business’s accounts, so it is not as if you illegally hacked into the system or used someone else’s identity to gain access to the funds. Is this a viable defense against embezzlement charges?
Embezzlement is still possible
Demonstrating that you were authorized to access those accounts can be important, especially if you have been accused of illegally accessing company funds. It is useful to show that you were granted access as a condition of your employment and that you did not do anything illegal at that point.
However, embezzlement focuses on misappropriating funds from those accounts. Just because you were given access to a company bank account, for instance, that does not mean you were authorized to transfer money into your personal accounts.
By misappropriating funds for personal gain, you can be accused of embezzlement. Many people who face these charges were originally authorized to access the money that they were ultimately accused of stealing. Examples include financial services employees, trustees, guardians, estate executors and more.
It is important to remember that prior authorization alone is not necessarily a defense against embezzlement charges. It can help to work with an experienced defense attorney while considering the next steps to take.