Embezzlement in Texas (Employee Theft)

Embezzlement is basically employee theft.  When you are not necessarily going into a store and stealing, but rather, you are stealing from within when someone gave you authority (over items or money) and trusted you to not steal from them.

Embezzlement is charged as Theft in Texas.  The range of punishment for this type of case would be the same as the general Theft statute:

• Up to $2,500 – Misdemeanor – Max punishment of 1 year in the county jail and up to a $4,000 fine
• $2,500 – $30,000 – State Jail Felony – Punishment range of 6 months to 2 years in the State Jail and up to a $10,000 fine
• $30,000 – $150,000 – Third Degree Felony – Punishment range of 2 to 10 years in TDCJ (prison) and up to a $10,000 fine
• $150,000 – $300,000 – Second Degree Felony – Punishment range of 2 to 20 years in TDCJ and up to a $10,000 fine
• Over $300,000 – First Degree Felony – Punishment range of 5 to 99 years or life in prison and up to a $10,000 fine

On these types of cases, assuming there are no defenses (which there commonly are) the state is typically highly concerned with making the complainant whole.  Even though this is not a civil matter, many times restitution plays a big part in these types of cases.  Your ability to pay the money back with likely effect the type of deal you can get from the state.

Many times employee thefts are not eligible for specific programs that the state might have (such as Pre-Trial Interventions).  Some courts even refuse to offer Deferred Adjudication on employee thefts depending on the facts, the DA, and who the judge is.