COMPANY MANAGER ADMITS THEFT
A man who worked as a manager at an Orange County fireworks company has pled guilty to stealing over $100,000 from his employer.
TNT Fireworks of Fullerton was the victim of the thefts. Nearly 200 fraudulent checks were written by the defendant, allegedly for city permits. The victim discovered the loss in 2008 during a review of the company's finances.
Part of the plea will be a prison sentence of approximately 2 years and restitution of over $100,000. The defendant will plead guilty to 5 felony counts.
The difficulty for a criminal defense attorney in representing an individual charged with this kind of crime is twofold. First, because these incidents occurred over a very long period of time, the amount of the theft is very high and there can be multiple felony counts involved. Second, because these thefts were committed by someone in a position of trust, embezzlement charges are typically involved and such charges can bring a very substantial amount of incarceration time.
Victims in these types of cases are understandably upset. The companies are often small businesses and the loss of $100,000+ can effectively destroy their day-to-day operations. When you couple all of this with the feeling of betrayal caused by what may have been a trusted employee, or even a friend, great care must be taken by the defense attorney.
