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13.2: Embezzlement

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    The crime of embezzlement is defined in section 503 of the California Penal Code. Embezzlement is the fraudulent appropriation of property by a person to whom it has been entrusted.106

    Tran sells an automobile to Lee. Tran’s automobile has personalized license plates, so he offers to apply for new license plates and thereafter sends them to Lee. Lee agrees and pays Tran for half of the automobile, the second payment to be made in a week. Lee is allowed to take possession of the automobile and drives it to her home that is over one hundred miles away. Tran never receives the second payment from Lee. When the new license plates arrive, Tran phones Lee and tells her he is going to keep them until Lee makes her second payment. In some jurisdictions, Tran has not embezzled the license plates. Although Tran and Lee have a relationship, it is not a relationship based on trust or confidence. Tran and Lee have what is called a debtor-creditor relationship (Lee is the debtor and Tran is the creditor). Thus, if the jurisdiction in which Tran sold the car requires a special confidential relationship for embezzlement, Tran may not be subject to prosecution for this offense.107

     

    106California Penal Code (2024)

    107University of Minnesota (2015)

    This page titled 13.2: Embezzlement was last modified on Sat, 03 Oct 2026 18:48:42 GMT and is shared under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by George Cartwright.