Paying Restitution Fee, Don't Know What's Going to Happen

[moose0124]

My question involves criminal law for the state of: California

I am 19 years old. I started working at Abercrombie and Fitch in 2008 over the summer. I was given a job back this summer of 2009 and I took advantage of my employee status and de-sensored clothes and stole them. I was not caught, I was tempted, taking advantage of my managers' trust, and I thought I could get away with it. I've never done anything like this, only here. Yesterday, I was approached by a Loss Prevention Detective and he interviewed me. I was so nervous; I thought he knew something, or that he caught me. He began to explain how they have cameras all over the vicinity, and then he proceeded to ask me "What did you steal?" He didn't provide any footage (I would've asked to see it, but that would be defending my wrongdoings?) I didn't want to risk anything, so I told the truth. I stole approximately $320 of merchandise. The detective then said that this is only between me and the store. There were no police officers. The meeting was between my manager, the detective, and I.

I wrote a written report, of what I stole, how I stole it, as well as a long paragraph about how sorry and remorseful I am. He then made me sign that, as well as a form (I don't remember what it was called) saying that I will pay the $320 I owe to A&F. I gave back all of the merchandise an hour later, and of course, none of them were re-salable because they had no tags on them.

He then gave me a piece of paper that simply said, "Civil Demand Notice: You have been interviewed in regards to an incident pertaining to your employment with this store. This state has passed a law permitting merchants to recover civil monetary damages and possible other damages from you as a result of this incident. These damages may take into consideration the value of the merchandise, whether or not it was blemished or non-saleable, the cost of security and any other damages permitted by law. You may be receiving a letter in the future explaining the amount of monetary damages we will be seeking."

I am so nervous. I live with my parents at home, and I don't want them to get this letter. I have not committed previous misdemeanors or felonies. I am paying the $320 restitution fee to Abercrombie tomorrow and I just hope that I am not charged with further fees. Will they charge me with any court fees because of this although I will be paying the restitution fee? I don't want this to be on my criminal record because I plan on going to dental school in a few years. Will this be on my record?

I hope that this truly is between "the store and I" because I do not want to to go to court and face any harsh justice systems. I was a good employee (minus the shoplifting) and my managers did like my work ethic and personality. I don't know how far that's going to go though... I'm nervous.

Any kind of feedback or advice would be very appreciated.

[ellemenohpee]

Well, being in a similar situation as you (except mine was at a different retailer), I can probably give you some insight.

Since there weren't any police involved, you don't have a criminal record. However, you will have a record in the retail community through the shoplifters database. Depending on who's subscribed to it, this can make having another job in retail VERY hard. I was told that I'd be on it for 7 years.

As for being brought to court, I was told that signing the promissory note (the one that says you will pay restitution) doesn't guarantee immunity from court charges. There's always a possibility of court. I've read here that a store has 1-2 years to press charges. If you pay the civil demand in a timely matter, there's a chance that that will be the end of it. It really depends on the store's policy.

My advice would be to pay the civil demand and NEVER shoplift again. It's not worth going through this again is it? I know I'll never do it again.

This is purely based on my understanding. How things play out may be different since the amount I took wasn't nearly as much as yours. Hope you all the best though.

[moose0124]

Thank you ellemenohpee for your quick reply. I just came back from the store and I asked the manager if they will be pressing charges against me. She said that they won't, as long as I follow the LP Detective's instructions. Phew. I'm hoping that the company won't decide to, but I think if the manager told me I will be fine..? We'll see. Thank you.

[BMW382]

You shouldn't be facing ay criminal charges. You resolved the case for the LP department and are paying the promissory note. The issue should be finished when you send in your payment.

[Antigone]

My question involves criminal law for the state of: California

I am 19 years old. I started working at Abercrombie and Fitch in 2008 over the summer. I was given a job back this summer of 2009 and I took advantage of my employee status and de-sensored clothes and stole them. I was not caught, I was tempted, taking advantage of my managers' trust, and I thought I could get away with it. I've never done anything like this, only here. Yesterday, I was approached by a Loss Prevention Detective and he interviewed me. I was so nervous; I thought he knew something, or that he caught me. He began to explain how they have cameras all over the vicinity, and then he proceeded to ask me "What did you steal?" He didn't provide any footage (I would've asked to see it, but that would be defending my wrongdoings?) I didn't want to risk anything, so I told the truth. I stole approximately $320 of merchandise. The detective then said that this is only between me and the store. There were no police officers. The meeting was between my manager, the detective, and I.

I wrote a written report, of what I stole, how I stole it, as well as a long paragraph about how sorry and remorseful I am. He then made me sign that, as well as a form (I don't remember what it was called) saying that I will pay the $320 I owe to A&F. I gave back all of the merchandise an hour later, and of course, none of them were re-salable because they had no tags on them.

He then gave me a piece of paper that simply said, "Civil Demand Notice: You have been interviewed in regards to an incident pertaining to your employment with this store. This state has passed a law permitting merchants to recover civil monetary damages and possible other damages from you as a result of this incident. These damages may take into consideration the value of the merchandise, whether or not it was blemished or non-saleable, the cost of security and any other damages permitted by law. You may be receiving a letter in the future explaining the amount of monetary damages we will be seeking."

I am so nervous. I live with my parents at home, and I don't want them to get this letter. I have not committed previous misdemeanors or felonies. I am paying the $320 restitution fee to Abercrombie tomorrow and I just hope that I am not charged with further fees. Will they charge me with any court fees because of this although I will be paying the restitution fee? I don't want this to be on my criminal record because I plan on going to dental school in a few years. Will this be on my record?

I hope that this truly is between "the store and I" because I do not want to to go to court and face any harsh justice systems. I was a good employee (minus the shoplifting) and my managers did like my work ethic and personality. I don't know how far that's going to go though... I'm nervous.

Any kind of feedback or advice would be very appreciated.

You do need to realize that the $320 you are paying back is for the merchandise your stole. It has nothing to do with the civil demand that will arrive snail mail to your mail box. That civil demand will most likely be larger.

[nekrofeliagirl]

I've been in a very similar situation. I didn't get anything in the mail from the company I worked for and stole from. I did pay what was stolen and that was the end of it. It does show up on my background checks for retail employment. It hasn't effected my everyday life, I just can't get a retail job for 7 years from the day that happened. There is always the possibility that they will press charges but I doubt they will since you cooperated.

If Abercrombie said they would mail you something and you don't want your parents to find out then I would recommend renting a PO box from the post office and submit a change of address form to the post office so that way all of your mail gets sent to the PO box. In California the fee is only $14 for 6 months. Once this is all done with then you can change your address back to your parents and cancel your PO box.

[KeyWestDan]

Check the civil theft statutes in your state.

They are usually modeled after bad check statutes and allow the store to civilly demand up to 3 times the cost of the merchandise. If they get the merchandise back in salable condition, then they can get the statutory minimum which is generally $150 or $200 depending on the state.

Thus if you get a civil demand letter it might not be $320, but could well be $960.

This has no impact on criminal charges, but generally merchants are happy with the civil payment. Pursuing criminal charges is a real pain and time consuming.

[moose0124]

Thank you nekrofeliagirl, I'm glad that I am talking to someone that has been in a similar situation. (I'm obviously not glad about what happened, but this is comforting.) How do the background checks work? I don't know what to put on future applications about why I was fired.. Ugh. My best option is to be honest, I think. But this is stressful. Thank you all for your feedback.

[mtothep]

I am in the same exact boat as you, i was confronted by LP yesterday. Moose0124 I would like to know if AnF sent you a seperate bill in the mail besides the money you paid back to the store?

[moose0124]

I haven't received anything as of now. What did you say to LP?