I’ve been asked several times recently whether a particular set of facts should be charged as embezzlement, in violation of G.S. 14-90, or as larceny by employee, in violation of G.S. 14-74. Struggling to answer those questions led me to realize that I didn’t have a good understanding of the relationship between the two offenses. I did some research, and thought I’d share it on the theory that others might be as confused as I was. First, the basics. The embezzlement statute generally makes it illegal for several categories of people, including “any agent, consignee, clerk, bailee, or servant . . . of any person” to “[e]mbezzle,” “misapply,” or “convert,” another’s “money, goods, or other chattels.” It’s a class H felony, unless the value of the property in question is $100,000 or more, in which case, it’s a class C felony. The larceny by employee statute generally makes it illegal for “any servant or other employee, to whom any money, goods, or other chattels” have been given by his “master,” to “go away with” the property with the intent to steal it, or to “embezzle” or “convert” them. Just like embezzlement, it’s a class H felony, unless the value of the property in question is $100,000 or more, in which case, it’s a class C felony. With that in mind, here are a few notes about the relationship between the two: The offenses are very similar. As Jessie Smith noted in the current version of North Carolina Crimes, larceny by employee [...]
Faculty Coordinators
