Understanding the Arizona Embezzlement Statute: ARS 13-1802

• Intentionally / With intent to: Acting with the objective of causing a specific result or engaging in particular conduct. In plain terms, you meant to do it.
• Knowingly: You are aware of your actions or the circumstances that make up the offense. It doesn’t require that you know your conduct is illegal; you just need to be conscious of what you are doing or the situation you are in.

Common Embezzlement Schemes

Embezzlement in Arizona often involves deceptive financial practices. These schemes can be as simple as a single false transaction or as complex as long‑running operations that unfold over months or even years. Understanding how these schemes typically work can help you make sense of the charges against you and the type of evidence prosecutors may rely on.

• Fake vendor payments and ghost vendors: An employee creates fictitious vendors or suppliers in a company’s accounting system. They then generate false invoices from these non-existent vendors and use company funds to pay them. The payments, however, are directed to accounts secretly controlled by the embezzler. Because large organizations often deal with many legitimate vendors, this type of fraud can be difficult to detect without careful auditing.
• Expense reimbursement fraud: An employee submits false or inflated expense reports to their employer. They might claim reimbursement for personal expenses that had nothing to do with the business, submit receipts for items they never purchased, or inflate the actual cost of legitimate business expenses. Over time, these fraudulent reimbursements can add up to significant amounts of stolen money.
• Check fraud and forgery: Writing unauthorized checks to oneself, a family member, or an accomplice. Another variation is intercepting checks meant for legitimate vendors, forging endorsements, and depositing them into personal accounts. Some embezzlers also alter the amounts on valid checks after they have been signed, pocketing the difference.
• Payroll manipulation: Adding fictitious employees, sometimes called “ghost employees,” and directing their paychecks to accounts controlled by the embezzler. Other variations involve inflating hours worked, issuing unauthorized bonuses, or continuing to process paychecks for employees who have already left the company.
• Skimming and cash theft: Taking money before it is officially recorded in the company’s books. This is most common in businesses that handle large amounts of cash, such as restaurants or retail stores. By pocketing cash payments before recording the sale, the theft becomes harder to detect through standard bookkeeping.
• Misuse of credit cards: Using a company credit card for personal expenses. This can include personal travel, entertainment, shopping, or other charges that have no legitimate business purpose but are billed to the company.

These schemes represent just some of the ways embezzlement can occur. Each case is unique, and the specific facts of your situation will determine the charges you face and the potential defenses available to you.