Legal Question in Criminal Law in Missouri

Re: Accused of stealing money

It is up to your company to prove that you stole, if they bring a civil suit against you. It's up to the prosecutor to prove that you stole, if criminal charges are brought. If you did not steal, then you probably do not have much to worry about. But, do not ignore the situation. this is especially true if you suspect that someone is setting you up to take the fall for them.

You did not tell what type of business this is. How may people have access to the money before you count it at the end of the day? Does your company use cameras to view the money location? Often retail businesses have a manager and cashier verify the starting money, at the beginning of a day or shift. The money is then used by that cashier, (and possibly others) during business. At the end of the cashier's shift or business day, the manager counts the ending money amount, oftne without the cashier being present. This count is compared to the starting money amount, and the recorded sales and refunds from the cash register or similar computing device. In this situation, if more than one person has access to the cash during the shift or business day, prosecutors are reluctant to bring criminal charges against a cashier, or manager, without some corroborating proof.

If this money is more a a "petty cash" fund, rather than retail sales cash drawer, then the possible suspects are a smaller group. If the controls on these funds are loose, then no prosecutor would bring charges agaisnt one person without clear evidence to support the accusation.

Has any one examined whether this is an accounting problem, rather than a theft problem. Are the numbers correct? Without more information, it would be impossible to give you clearer advice.

Good Luck

Re: Accused of stealing money

Although the lawyer who posted the previous response did have some good points, I diagree with his conclusion that we do not have enough info to give you good advice. To the contrary, you have stated that there is already an investigation and you believe that the prosecutor is going to bring charges against you. If it is not already too late, the best advice I can possibly give you is to "lawyer up". That means that you absolutely must stand on your Fifth Amendment right not to make any statements on the grounds that they may incriminate you. True, the burden of proof is on the prosecutor to prove the charges against you "beyond a reasonable doubt", but in numerous cases, most of the damaging evidence comes from or as a result of the "suspect" or defendant answering questions or making statements. Thge people on the other side of this matter are trained, and work every day, perfecting methods of obtaining statements which convict people. They are not, as a rule, interested in the least in "justice" or being fair. Their job is to gather or construct evidence in order to get a conviction. Please do not anwer any questions for anyone until you have an attorney! If you are located in the Eastern half of the state and are not already represented by counsel, I may be able to help you. I have practiced law for twenty-seven years and Ihave handled hundreds of criminal cases, You may call me for a free telephone consultation at 314-727-2822.