California Criminal Defense Blog

Embezzlement under California law is the "fraudulent appropriation of property by a person to whom it has been entrusted." This used to be considered a distinct crime. But now California law treats embezzlement--and punishes it--merely as a variant of theft.

Embezzling property up to $400 in value gets prosecuted as a petty theft. Embezzling more than $400 worth of property may be punished as a grand theft. The former is a misdemeanor with a maximum sentence of a year county jail. The latter may be charged as a felony and can land someone in California state prison for up to three years.

So if they're charged under the same section, what's ultimately the distinction between embezzlement and standard theft offenses? The answer lies primarily in how the crimes get viewed by prosecutors, judges and juries.

Continue reading "California Embezzlement as an Aggravated Form of Theft" »

Welfare fraud in California involves persons receiving benefits for which they are not eligible by way of providing false qualifying information. In most cases, the accused person failed to disclose income, assets or circumstances; the reporting of which would have disqualified her from further benefits.

California and the counties set strict criteria for who can receive welfare. The family must be sufficiently poor. Recipients must sign documents under penalty of perjury declaring all assets, sources of income, persons residing in the home and their contributions to the home.

Suppose, for example, that Betty is a single mother with two kids and no assets or income. Based on her circumstances, she qualifies for welfare and starts receiving benefits. But wanting to supplement her welfare income, she takes a "cash job" under the table as a receptionist. She also receives a new car as a gift from her parents. Knowing that reporting these developments would make her ineligible for benefits, she conceals them from the welfare office.

Continue reading "Welfare Fraud - How it Works" »

Most people think of forgery as signing someone else’s name to a document without the person’s permission. But Penal Code 470 – California’s forgery law actually reads much broader than that.

In California, a person commits forgery when he knowingly alters, creates, or uses a written document, intending to commit a fraud. Said another way, forgery is creating or making use of a new document for the forger’s personal benefit and gain.

For example, a person who knowingly deposits a bad check in his bank account commits a forgery, even if he was not the one who signed it or created the false document. Likewise, a con artist who deceives a person into signing a fraudulent paper commits a forgery. As such, California’s forgery law is a sort of “catch all” that criminalizes a wide range of deceptive and fraudulent acts.

In late December 2008, KABC-TV Los Angeles put out a report regarding the pending arrest of county in-home care employees allegedly involved in over 700 cases of fraud. Over 174,000 residents of Los Angeles County receive in-home care from the Department of Social Services, and investigating officials allege that fraud is present within the program.

The news came less than two months after the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office announced the arrest of 10 people on felony warrants for welfare fraud. DA officials allege that the individuals involved in the charges had defrauded welfare programs for more than $460,000 in money and services.

These two examples of fraud in Southern California illustrate the highly diverse nature of what are commonly called “white collar crimes.” White collar crime in Southern California is a loose set of non-violent criminal activity typically associated with business people, investors and other professionals in positions of trust.

Continue reading "Southern California Welfare Fraud" »