Traditionally, theft laws required that trespassing must have taken place for a defendant to be charged with a crime. This created a loophole in the law, meaning that those who take possession of funds legitimately but refused to return them were not technically guilty of theft since they had not trespassed on the property.
This is why the crime of embezzlement was put into law. The crime of embezzlement occurs when a person has the lawful possession of another person’s property and takes that property for their own use without having any intention of returning it. If you have been accused of embezzlement in Colorado, make sure that you are adequately equipped to defend yourself.
What types of property use constitutes embezzlement?
Any action that is done with the intention of depriving the property owner of rights to their property could constitute embezzlement. For example, if you give the property away to another person, sell the property, or intentionally inflict serious damage to the property, these could all be instances of embezzlement.
How can I defend myself against an embezzlement accusation?
If you want to successfully defend yourself against an embezzlement accusation, you must be able to challenge one of the elements of the crime.
For example, one element of the crime of embezzlement is intent. Therefore, you may be able to successfully defend yourself by showing that you lacked intent. It may have been the case that you accidentally transferred the property to another because you believed that they had the right to the property. If you can show that you made an honest mistake in this way, any embezzlement charges you face will likely be dismissed.
Alternatively, you may have been accused of taking ownership of property that you never had control of. If this was the case, you may be able to give documentation to show that you were never in possession of the property in question.
If you are concerned about an embezzlement accusation that has recently been made against you, take swift action to defend yourself. By understanding the most popular forms of defense and how they may apply to your situation, you will have the best chance of being successful.
