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?

LOL, the city is not going to ask. They are going to prosecute you fully if you do not voluntarily repay them. Credit card fraud is the most likely charge you will be found guilty of along with a restitution order. One charge for each time.

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Quoting andy1

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

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It is certainly possible that the city would seek only reimbursement but not pursue criminal charges. How likely that is to happen here I cannot say since I don't know the people who would make that decision nor do I know all the potentially relevant facts. All you can really do at this point is consult a criminal defense attorney so you can be prepared should the city decide to prosecute you and see about starting to get the money together to repay the city. Repaying the city promptly probably would go a long way towards helping your situation, though of course I cannot guarantee how that would play out either.

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Quoting andy1

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

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The city can demand reimbursement and still report the crime for prosecution.

You have no leverage here.

Your consequences occur at the pleasure of the police chief.

You might limit the consequences if you pay all the money right now, profusely apologize, and beg for forgiveness.

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Quoting andy1

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

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Why does this matter? You stole from the Policy department and City. You shouldn't even be posting on these forums right now, pay them back. You're going to have to eventually.

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Quoting Taxing Matters

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It is certainly possible that the city would seek only reimbursement but not pursue criminal charges. How likely that is to happen here I cannot say since I don't know the people who would make that decision nor do I know all the potentially relevant facts. All you can really do at this point is consult a criminal defense attorney so you can be prepared should the city decide to prosecute you and see about starting to get the money together to repay the city. Repaying the city promptly probably would go a long way towards helping your situation, though of course I cannot guarantee how that would play out either.

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To be more specific, legally can they do that? Like order restitution without a court order.

I still have not brought up restitution, and still have not been called... I'm worried but at the same time relieved.

And its not like i'm trying to avoid paying this back, ill gladly write a check and get it over with. I'm worried a criminal charge is going to ruin the next 20 years of my life, because of my poor decisions.

What law do you believe exists that prohibits them from demanding restitution without a court order?

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Quoting andy1

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To be more specific, legally can they do that?

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Understand that theft results in two potential legal issues for the thief. First, of course, the thief may be criminally prosecuted for the theft. The result of that could be jail or prison time, a fine, community service, probation, etc., depending on the applicable state law. In addition to that, in many states the court may order the thief to pay restitution to the victim.

The second legal issue is that the thief is liable to the true owner of the property to return what was taken or the value of it. In this case since what was taken was money, the city could certainly sue you for a judgment in the amount of the money you improperly charged on the credit card.

The city may pursue the criminal prosecution, the civil lawsuit, or both. In general, however, the city won’t be able to collect twice for restitution here. So if you were ordered to pay restitution in a criminal case and paid it, the city would not succeed in suing you for a civil judgment for that same amount. Similarly, if you have already repaid the amount you took from a civil claim the city would not get an order of restitution in the criminal case (though you still might get hit with a fine, which is paid to the state as punishment for the crime rather than paid to the victim as compensation for the loss).

While it would take a court order to force you to repay if you don’t voluntarily cough it up, it doesn’t have to be a restitution order in a criminal case. It could be simply a civil judgment that the city pursues if it elects not to go the criminal route. You can bet, though, that the city will want its money back and will likely take some legal action to get what it is owed, whether by criminal prosecution, lawsuit, or both.

I would have the money ready to pay back and also find a good lawyer. Ultimately it's gonna be up to the city if they want to prosecute or not,maybe a lawyer can help them not press charges. If they do charge you it looks good that the money is paid back.