EMBEZZLEMENT IS A wide-ranging offense that involves the misappropriation or destruction of money or property with which a person has been entrusted. Virtually any property, including animals and trade secrets, can be embezzled. Its etymological origin has been traced to the French embeiseller, which means to destroy or to make away with. The offense runs a gamut from willful failure to return a rented DVD movie to a multimillion dollar theft by an employee of a large corporation. Under most circumstances, embezzlement should be one of the simplest crimes to commit because there are very few easier ways to obtain money without working for it than retaining someone else's property, which is already in one's possession or control.

The crime we now know as embezzlement ...

  • Loading...
locked icon

Sign in to access this content

Get a 30 day FREE TRIAL

  • Watch videos from a variety of sources bringing classroom topics to life
  • Read modern, diverse business cases
  • Explore hundreds of books and reference titles