Michigan Embezzlement Charges — What to Know
| What You Need to Know |
| • Embezzlement is a kind of theft charge — but unlike most theft cases, it involves someone in a position of trust. That distinction shapes everything about how these cases are built and defended. |
| • Michigan law has six degrees of embezzlement charges, ranging from a 93-day misdemeanor to a 20-year felony, based entirely on the dollar amount involved. |
| • The single most important thing anyone can do when contacted about an embezzlement allegation: say nothing. Not to the employer, not to investigators, not to anyone. |
| • In most cases that are charged, the evidence is solid — but that does not mean the outcome is fixed. The amount claimed by the employer is often inflated, and fighting restitution is frequently where the real battle is won. |
| • Our firm handles embezzlement cases across Wayne, Oakland, Macomb, and the surrounding counties. Free consultations available Monday–Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. at 586-465-1980. |
What Is Embezzlement?
Michigan embezzlement charges are a form of theft — but with a twist. Under MCL 750.174, what makes it embezzlement rather than ordinary larceny is the element of trust. The person accused didn’t steal something from a stranger. They took money or property that had been entrusted to them by an employer, or that was otherwise within their control — often as part of their job.
That’s an important distinction, because it’s also what makes these cases feel so personal and so frightening. Most of our clients know what’s coming the moment their employer, police or other investigator calls or shows up. The “pit in the stomach” feeling they describe when that happens is pretty much universal.
Our firm handles embezzlement cases regularly — from matters involving a few hundred dollars to those involving amounts into the multiple millions. We know how these cases are built, what prosecutors focus on, and how to produce the best outcome possible.
Michigan Embezzlement Charges and Penalties
Michigan law breaks embezzlement into six degrees, based entirely on the value of what was allegedly taken. Two of the six are misdemeanors; four are felonies.
- Less than $200 — misdemeanor, up to 93 days in jail
- $200 to $999 — misdemeanor, up to 1 year in jail
- $1,000 to $19,999 — felony, up to 5 years in prison
- $20,000 to $49,999 — felony, up to 10 years in prison
- $50,000 to $99,999 — felony, up to 15 years in prison
- $100,000 or more — felony, up to 20 years in prison
Those are the maximum penalties the law allows — not what typically happens. In practice, absent a serious prior criminal record, most people facing embezzlement charges can be protected from incarceration. That’s especially true for first-time offenders, and even more so when restitution is part of the picture.
The comparison to DUI cases is useful here: a first-offense OWI technically carries up to 93 days in jail. Almost no one convicted of that ever winds up serving any time. Embezzlement works similarly — the headlines about maximum sentences are real, but they’re not what most cases look like when a lawyer is doing the job right.
State Charge or Federal Case?
The vast majority of embezzlement cases are handled by local or state prosecutors. This means that these matters typically get resolved in the local district or county circuit courts.
However, there is an exception worth knowing about. If the alleged conduct involved any kind of interstate communications — using an employer’s credit card to buy something from another state, for example, or wiring money across state lines — the matter can be charged as a federal case. When that happens, the government almost always charges wire fraud, often called the “bread and butter” of all federal crimes. This is not uncommon in embezzlement cases where there has been any interstate activity.
Federal cases carry different — and typically harsher — consequences, and they require a lawyer with federal court experience. We have that.
For the overwhelming majority of people reading this, though, the case will be a state matter brought locally, where the alleged offense occurred.
The Most Important Thing You Can Do Right Now: Stop Talking
This cannot be overstated. If anyone — an employer, a detective, a human resources manager, anyone — contacts a person about a potential embezzlement allegation, the advice is the same in every situation: say nothing.
People in this position often feel an overwhelming urge to explain themselves. They want to correct the misunderstanding, or apologize, or promise to make it right. Every one of those impulses makes the situation worse. Even a sincere attempt to clear things up can be taken as or twisted into an admission of guilt.
The right to remain silent exists for exactly this reason. Our firm has written about this in detail in a separate article on talking to police — it’s worth reading, because the principle applies just as much to an employer’s investigation as it does to a police interrogation.
The simple truth is that it’s already too late for many people reading this. If so, the priority is getting legal representation in place as quickly as possible to limit any further damage.
The Reality: In Most Cases, the Evidence Is Strong
Most people prefer to hear there’s a way to beat the charge outright. That may be true, and it’s always worth looking to see if there is a way out. But the more useful starting point is honesty: law enforcement doesn’t pursue embezzlement charges based solely on a complaint. By the time charges are brought, there has usually been a thorough investigation, often including a forensic audit or with other evidence of guilt.
In many cases our firm handles, the facts of what happened are not really in dispute. The client knows it, the prosecutor knows it, and the employer certainly knows it. In those situations, walking into court without a realistic strategy isn’t courage — it’s a poor decision.
A skilled embezzlement lawyer looks at the case from three angles simultaneously: whether the evidence of the charge itself can be challenged, what can be done to limit damage and protect the client, and whether the amount being claimed as taken can be reduced. That third question matters enormously.
Fight to Reduce What You Owe
Restitution is the financial component of an embezzlement case — the amount the court orders to be repaid to the employer. It is determined by the judge, not the employer, but it starts with what the employer claims.
Here’s the problem: employers are not neutral parties. They’ve been wronged, they’re angry, and they have every reason to claim as much as possible. Over the years, our firm has seen employers throw in everything they can think of — losses that predate the employee, inventory discrepancies that were never connected to anyone, costs that have nothing to do with the alleged theft.
Getting that number right is a critically important thing for the defense lawyer to do in an embezzlement case. Our firm has successfully argued restitution amounts down in case after case — sometimes significantly. That only happens when the lawyer and client sit down together and go through every line of what’s being claimed.
The related issue of how employers sometimes behave during and after a charge — trying to use the situation for leverage, making threats, or misrepresenting the facts — is covered in more detail in our article on embezzlement and the misbehaving employer.
What to Look for in a Michigan Embezzlement Lawyer
When facing Michigan embezzlement charges, two things matter most in choosing a lawyer:
Local Presence in the Right Courts
A state embezzlement charge will be heard in the district or circuit court where it was filed. That court has its own judges, prosecutors, and procedural culture. A lawyer who appears there regularly — who knows how that court operates and what that prosecutor’s office tends to prioritize — is in a fundamentally different position than one who doesn’t.
A federal charge in the Detroit area will be heard in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, Southern Division. This means the federal court in downtown Detroit.
Our firm’s criminal practice covers Wayne, Oakland, Macomb, and the surrounding counties. Those are the courts we’re in week in and week out. That familiarity is not a minor detail.
Direct Experience With Embezzlement Cases
Criminal defense covers an enormous range. A lawyer who handles mostly murder cases, or mostly drug charges, brings different experience to an embezzlement case than one who handles these matters regularly.
Our firm has represented clients in both misdemeanor and felony embezzlement cases for more than 30 years — cases involving amounts from under $200 to well into the millions of dollars. We are as clear about what we don’t handle (rape, murder) as we are about what we do.
Why Work With Jeffrey Randa and Associates
Success in an embezzlement case is best measured by what doesn’t happen to the client. Keeping someone out of jail, protecting their record, and making sure they don’t get stuck repaying more than was actually taken — those are the outcomes that matter.
My team and I have handled enough of these cases to know that even when the facts are against a client, there is almost always something worth fighting for. No jail. A shorter probation term. A cleaner plea. A restitution figure that reflects what was actually taken, not what the employer wishes they could recover.
We don’t promise outcomes we can’t deliver. What we can say is that we work these cases hard from the start. We know the courts we practice in, and we know how to get the best outcome possible — even when things looked bleak going in.
Talk to a Michigan Embezzlement Lawyer — Free Consultation
If you’re facing an embezzlement charge anywhere in Wayne, Oakland, Macomb, or the surrounding counties, the most important step is getting good legal advice before anything else happens in the case.
Our firm offers free, confidential phone consultations Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. An after-hours answering service is available outside those hours. Call us at 586-465-1980, use the contact form on the site, or reach out through the chat box.
For more on how our firm approaches criminal defense, visit our Michigan embezzlement defense page.
