Embezzlement and Employee Theft Lawyer in Hudson County

Reviewed by William A. Proetta, Esq. · Updated October 2026

New Jersey has no crime called embezzlement. A person accused of taking money or property from an employer, client, nonprofit or business partner is charged with theft under N.J.S.A. 2C:20-3, theft by failure to make a required disposition under N.J.S.A. 2C:20-9, or misapplication of entrusted property under N.J.S.A. 2C:21-15. Depending on the amount and the defendant’s position, the charge is anywhere from a fourth-degree crime to a second-degree crime carrying five to ten years in state prison. All of them are indictable. White-collar cases are typically assigned to the Special Investigations Unit of the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office and tried in the Criminal Division of Superior Court in the Frank J. Guarini Justice Complex, 24 Central Avenue, Jersey City.

These cases usually begin as an internal audit, a bookkeeper’s discovery or a call from an owner, long before an arrest. What you say to the owner, an accountant or a detective in that first conversation can be used against you, and the choice among the three statutes is often made after those conversations. I have defended employee theft cases in Hudson County for more than 15 years. Call (201) 793-8018 for a free, confidential case review.

The Three Charges Used for Employee Theft

Theft by unlawful taking, N.J.S.A. 2C:20-3. The State proves that you took or exercised control over property of the employer with the purpose to deprive. This fits the cashier who pockets receipts and the warehouse worker who removes inventory. It is covered in detail on our theft of movable property page.

Failure to make a required disposition, N.J.S.A. 2C:20-9. This is the charge for money you were supposed to pass along. The State proves that you purposely obtained or kept property under an agreement or a known legal obligation to pay it out or dispose of it in a specified way, that you treated it as your own, and that you failed to make the payment or disposition. It does not matter that the victim’s specific dollars cannot be identified. A contractor who keeps a customer’s deposit meant for materials, a manager who keeps funds collected for a landlord, and a payroll clerk who does not remit what was withheld are the typical defendants.

Misapplication of entrusted property, N.J.S.A. 2C:21-15. This applies when you apply or dispose of property entrusted to you as a fiduciary, or property that belongs to the government or a financial institution, in a manner you know is unlawful and that creates a substantial risk of loss. No profit is required. A fiduciary includes a trustee, guardian, executor, administrator or receiver, and anyone who performs fiduciary functions for an organization that is itself a fiduciary. A condominium board treasurer, a union benefit fund officer and a church or nonprofit treasurer are the usual examples.

The State can choose among them. Because theft is a single offense under N.J.S.A. 2C:20-2(a), a conviction can rest on any form of theft even if the charging document names another, subject to the court giving you fair notice. It matters which statute is charged first, because they are graded differently.

How Employee Theft Is Graded

Two points in the grading chart below change cases. First, a fiduciary breach is third degree at any amount, so a $2,000 theft by someone in a fiduciary role is the same grade as a $60,000 theft by a clerk. Whether the defendant actually held a fiduciary position is therefore a legal question we contest. Second, 2C:21-15 counts the benefit derived, including tax avoided, while the theft statute counts value, so the same shortage can grade differently depending on which is charged.

Amounts from one scheme or course of conduct can be aggregated, whether the money came from one person or many. A series of $300 skims over three years is therefore charged as one count at the total.

Sentencing, Restitution and the Civil Case

Restitution is mandatory when the victim suffered a loss and you have, or will have, the ability to pay, and the court fixes the amount to give the victim the fullest compensation consistent with that ability (N.J.S.A. 2C:44-2(b), (c)). Restitution paid reduces any later civil recovery, but a civil settlement does not end the criminal case. A third- or fourth-degree conviction by a first offender carries a presumption against prison. A second-degree conviction carries a presumption of prison.

Employers often add a parallel civil suit, a claim on a fidelity bond or employee-dishonesty policy, a report to a licensing board, and a termination for cause. A professional license, a security clearance or a position of trust can be lost before the criminal case ends, which is why the sequence of what is signed and said matters.

Employee Theft Charges in Jersey City, Hoboken and Hudson County

The matters that come to us follow the county’s economy:

• Small businesses and family firms. A cashier or manager at a restaurant, bodega or retail shop on Bergenline Avenue or Washington Street who is accused of skimming cash. The proof is usually register tapes and camera footage, and the defense is that the shortage is a bookkeeping problem and not a theft.
• Property management and condominium boards. Fees and reserve funds in Jersey City and Hoboken buildings are held by a treasurer, a manager or a management company. This is the setting for 2C:21-15.
• Medical and professional offices. A billing manager or office administrator accused of diverting payments or writing checks to themselves.
• Staffing agencies and contractors. Deposits, payroll funds and client payments that went somewhere other than where an agreement required, the typical 2C:20-9 case.
• Nonprofits, unions and religious organizations. Treasurers of small organizations who commingled funds, often without any personal enrichment scheme.

The State builds the case from bank records, accounting software logs and sometimes a forensic accountant, and it may use a digital extraction from a work phone or laptop. We review how that evidence was collected and whether a search warrant was needed. See motions to suppress.

Diversion for a First Offender

For a first offender charged with a third- or fourth-degree count, Pretrial Intervention is a realistic goal, and full restitution, often paid before the application, is the strongest single factor. The victim’s wishes are one of the statutory factors, which is why an early, measured line of communication with the employer through counsel is valuable. A second-degree charge begins with the presumption against admission.

Arrest and Pretrial Release

Because these cases are often charged after months of audit, the first notice may be a summons or a call to surrender. A complaint-warrant is possible, and detention requires the State to file a motion and prove its case at a hearing; see pretrial release and detention.

Immigration Consequences

Employee theft is a theft or a fraud offense, and both are crimes involving moral turpitude. Two federal lines matter. A theft offense with a sentence of at least one year is an aggravated felony under 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(43)(G), and a fraud or deceit offense with a loss above $10,000 is one under § 1101(a)(43)(M)(i). Cases involving sustained skimming can pass the $10,000 line, so the loss figure in the plea and the restitution order has to be negotiated with the immigration consequence in view.

Defenses to an Embezzlement or Employee Theft Charge

• Not theft, a mistake. A shortage is not proof of purpose. Commingled accounts, errors in a poorly kept ledger and unclear reimbursement practices all produce a gap that is not a crime.
• Authorization and claim of right. Pay advances, owner-approved loans, expense reimbursements and wages believed to be owed fall under the honest-claim-of-right defense in N.J.S.A. 2C:20-2(c).
• No fiduciary role. For fiduciary grading or 2C:21-15, the State must prove the position. A job title or access to a bank account is not necessarily a fiduciary relationship.
• Presumptions do not apply. The statutory presumptions in 2C:20-9, that an audit shortage shows the property was treated as the defendant’s own, are limited to government officers and employees of financial institutions. In a private employer case the State must prove each element.
• Required obligation. For 2C:20-9, the State must show a known obligation to pay or dispose of the money in a specific way. A general duty to run the business is not that.
• Value. The jury decides the amount, and the audit’s total often includes amounts the defendant had authority to spend. Reducing the figure can change the grade.
• Who did it. Shared passwords and several employees with access to the same accounts leave doubt about who made a particular transfer.

Talk to a Hudson County Embezzlement Lawyer

If an audit, an owner or a detective has raised a shortage with you in Jersey City, Hoboken or anywhere in Hudson County, stop explaining and call before the next meeting. The statute charged, the fiduciary question and the dollar figure are all open at that stage, and each changes the grade. Call William Proetta Criminal Law at (201) 793-8018 for a free, confidential case review, or contact us online.