I worked in Michigan for two years with my previous employer and recently quit. And now, my previous employer is pressing charges on me saying that I embezzled about $14,000. When I started this job, the accountant and my boss's wife (who also works there) had me leave the room while they called the pay check company to give them my salary. I was in a manager position. I had to call the paycheck place to give the hourly timesheets to them for other employees, but never had to give them my salary. Now, after working there for two years, they are saying that they overpaid me. They are saying that I should have realized that I was being overpayed and that now I have embezzled that money from them. I would just like to know how much ground they have to stand on with this charge?

So they are saying that the payroll company they used overpaid you, even though you were a salaried employee and never reported time to the payroll company? And they expect to prove embezzlement for this?

I would tell them, there is no way you can charge me for embezzlement and if you try, you will sue them for false arrest and defamation of character.

Unless they can prove that YOU gave instructions to the payroll provider to increase your pay, they haven't a leg to stand on.

Thank you very much. That is pretty much what I was thinking, but didn't know about the law that much so I wanted to make sure. This helped me a lot.

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Originally Posted by SallyJ72

And now, my previous employer is pressing charges on me saying that I embezzled about $14,000.

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Hello Sally:

Scott is right on! However, depending on what you mean by the above, you might have some other considerations.

"Pressing charges" can mean two different things - civil and criminal.

If your old boss is pressing criminal charges, you would have heard from the cops or the district attorney. I doubt you would have heard directly from the employer. If that's the case, I wouldn't talk with them further. If it IS them, then it's apparent that you HAVE spoken with them, and that's a VERY dangerous thing to do so.

If they're pressing civil charges, you may very well have heard from their lawyer if they're actually going ahead with the suit. Or, if they're just testing the waters and making a lot of noise, then they might have contacted you directly. If a lawyer contacted you, it's equally as dangerous for you to talk to them.

Did you receive phone calls or stuff in the mail? Can you fill in these details?

excon

excon has a good point. I assumed that, at this point, they had contacted you directly and personally. But if the law becomes involved, either by the filing of criminal charges (highly unlikely if what you said is accurate) or civil charges (anyone can sue over anything), then you should contact an attorney before you talk to anyone.

Actually, I had been owed a check that they were withholding from me and they contacted me. I had contacted the Wage and Labor Union and filed a complaint about them withholding the money from me. Then my previous employer contacted me and said that if I was willing to sign a statement admitting to the embezzlement and was willing to forego the check that they wouldn't contact the prosecuting attorney. I did not agree to sign anything or forego the money because I don't feel that I did anything wrong. The next morning the Wage and Labor board contacted me and said that my previous employer agreed to pay me my money. Then I got an email from another employee at that place that I still talk to that said the police were in the office taking statements from my old boss and his wife. So, I haven't been contacted about charges, but I am assuming that they are pressing charges.

Ahh! First, I would get back to the Wage and Labor Board and ask them to confirm that in writing. Second, I would contact an attorney and put them on notice.

I really doubt that they can press charges. I can't imagine a prosecutor accepting that a crime was committed here. As long as you had no control over the amount of your paycheck as you state, there is no embezzlement. For embezzlement to exist you would have to have caused your paycheck to be inflated.

Thank you so much. I had absolutely no control whatsoever over my paycheck. I was paid what my boss's wife told the pay check company to pay me. If anyone is at fault it would be her I assume. They tried to tell me that because I was so high up in the ladder as a manager that I was responsible for not realizing they were paying me too much. And actually I noticed a few months or so before I quit and told them immediately so it is no fault of mine. And the reason I never noticed before is that it was a direct deposit. I am also a single mom of twins who are now just over 2 years old. It has been a very crazy time raising them on my own and hard enough to just keep my head from exploding with how busy I was to sit down and calculate if they happened to be paying me too much. But I will definitely contact a lawyer right away and I appreciate everything you guys have done to get me informed more about my situation.

Happy Valentines Day!

Ahh now you are changing things. So you were overpaid. Did they ask for the money back?

In the first post I put on here I stated that I was overpaid. I didn't know I was being overpaid though and either did my previous employer. When I realized it I told them so that they could fix it and then they decided that because I hadn't noticed before that I embezzled the money. They are the ones that called in my salary the day I was hired to the pay check company. I had nothing to do with providing any information at all to the pay check company. They have not asked me to pay back any money at all, although I would be fine with paying it back the same way it was paid to me over two years and however much over on each check that they overpaid. I just can't pay one lump sum because of the mistake that they made.

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Originally Posted by SallyJ72

In the first post I put on here I stated that I was overpaid. I didn't know I was being overpaid though and either did my previous employer. When I realized it I told them so that they could fix it and then they decided that because I hadn't noticed before that I embezzled the money. They are the ones that called in my salary the day I was hired to the pay check company. I had nothing to do with providing any information at all to the pay check company. They have not asked me to pay back any money at all, although I would be fine with paying it back the same way it was payed to me over two years and however much over on each check that they overpaid. I just can't pay one lump sum because of the mistake that they made.

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If things are as you say they are - you never called in hours or your salary - I don't understand why this could be embezzlement OR why you are going to pay it back, although you do admit you were overpaid.

I'm not discussing the moral "should you have kept the overpayment" question - legally I think this is shifting ground. I don't understand if the employer had ALL the responsibility for payroll why you are responsible for their mistake - ?

Wasn't anybody checking the payroll records? I would think the employer has SOME responsibility here - !

The initial post didn't make clear that you agreed you were overpaid. I still don't think they can make an embezzlement charge stick. But the fact that you were being overpaid and that it took you over a year to bring it to their attention creates a problem. I understand that they made the mistake and they should have caught it as well. I would consult an attorney.

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Originally Posted by SallyJ72

the police were in the office taking statements from my old boss and his wife………..They are the ones that called in my salary the day I was hired to the pay check company. I had nothing to do with providing any information at all to the pay check company. They have not asked me to pay back any money at all, although I would be fine with paying it back the same way it was payed to me over two years

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Hello again, Sally:

Since the cops are involved, this is a criminal investigation. Don't talk to the cops.

Furthermore, DON'T be so quick to believe that you were overpaid. Do NOT volunteer to pay it back. From a legal perspective, I'm not so sure you owe it, and you shouldn't be either.

There is a doctrine in the law known as “laches”. Without going into a long and drawn out legal explanation, it basically says that if a mistake happened a long time ago and didn't get corrected when it should have been, it isn't, therefore, a mistake. It doesn't really matter WHY it wasn't corrected. It only matters that it wasn't. Additionally, if there was a mistake here, it was THEIR mistake because the wife is the one who did the deed - not you.

If, however, YOU feel that you were overpaid, you'll have plenty of opportunity to repay them as this case moves along. Frankly, if it were me, I'd take the money and I wouldn't feel guilty about it at all.

excon

Hello again, Sally:

Interestingly, all three of us had essentially the same advice at essentially the same time. I think you're getting pretty good stuff here, Sally, if I do say so myself.

Here's three greenies for us.

excon