Home > West's Encyclopedia of American Law > Embezzlement

The fraudulent conversion of another's property by a person who is in a position of trust, such as an agent or employee.

Embezzlement is distinguished from swindling in that swindling involves wrongfully obtaining property by a false pretense, such as a lie or trick, at the time the property is transferred, which induces the victim to transfer to the wrongdoer title to the property.

Nature

There was no crime of embezzlement under the COMMON LAW. It is a statutory crime that evolved from LARCENY. Whereas larceny requires a felonious trespassory taking of property at the outset, embezzlement is a wrongful appropriation subsequent to an originally lawful taking. Embezzlement is, therefore, a modification of larceny designed to cover certain fraudulent acts that do not come within its...