Embezzlement from an Employer by Misuse of a Gas Card

My question involves criminal law for the state of: CA.

If I used a city owned gas card to fill up my personal vehicles over the course of 4 months, resulting in 600-800 dollars worth of debt, is there a way to correct without criminal charges?
I have already returned the gas card to the chief of police and confessed of misuse. He said he would think on it and call me.
Is repayment possible in lieu of charges?

You will have to wait and see.

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Quoting andy1

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My question involves criminal law for the state of: CA.

If I used a city owned gas card to fill up my personal vehicles over the course of 4 months, resulting in 600-800 dollars worth of debt, is there a way to correct without criminal charges?
I have already returned the gas card to the chief of police and confessed of misuse. He said he would think on it and call me.
Is repayment possible in lieu of charges?

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You should have handed him the money along with the card.

I suggest you do that ASAP.

Might make him think on it more in your favor.

According to a CA attorney's website, embezzlement of under $950 is a form of petty theft - a misdemeanor punishable by up to 6 months in county jail. That'll probably mean the loss of your job and the requirement to make restitution anyway.

I think you'd better get in front of this with the cash.

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Quoting andy1

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Is repayment possible in lieu of charges?

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You’ll have to repay what you took in any event. As far as the law goes, the crime has already been committed and repaying the victim (the city) now will not undo that. Payment might, however, affect whether the police and prosecutor decide to go forward with charging you. But I have no way to know what this particular police chief will decide to do. You’d have some better idea of that than anyone here.

What city dept. did you work for?

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Quoting DeputyDog

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What city dept. did you work for?

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I was volunteering for the police dept for about 2 years. The chief is a former LASO Lieutenant.

I think DeputyDog was actually asking which department of the city (police, fire, public works, etc) rather than asking for the name of the city. I am guessing it was the police department since turning in the credit card normally would have been done with the department responsible for the card.

Fixed it... It was the PD

So you were volunteering for the POLICE department and stole from the city while doing so?

Not sure what your objective was in volunteering, but charged or not, kiss any job in LE goodbye forever.

And the chances that you will be criminally charged just rose exponentially, IMO, knowing that it was the police department. If the chief decides not to charge you, you will be very very lucky indeed.

Is it possible for the city to request reimbursement without pressing charges?