Embezzlement

==Worldwide==
In 2020, 37% of employee fraud happened because of a lack of internal controls or lack of independent checks and audits, 18% by overriding internal controls, 18% from lack of management review, 10% from a poor tone set by top managers, and 17% from other causes.<ref name="acfe20">{{Cite web |date=2020-04-01 |title=ACFE Report to the Nations – 2020 Global Fraud Study |page=36 |url=http://www.acfe.com/report-to-the-nations/2020/ |access-date=2020-11-26 |publisher=ACFE}}</ref>

===England and Wales===
Offences of embezzlement were formerly created by sections 18 and 19 of the [[Larceny Act 1916]].<ref>{{cite journal |title=Larceny Act 1916 |url=http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1916/50/enacted|journal=Legislation.gov.uk |date = 31 October 1916}}</ref>

The former offences of embezzlement are replaced by the new offence of theft, contrary to section 1 of the [[Theft Act 1968]].<ref>Griew, Edward (1986). ''The Theft Acts 1968 and 1978'' (5th ed.). Sweet and Maxwell. Paragraph 2-01 at page 12.</ref>

===United States===

In the United States, embezzlement is a [[Statutory law|statutory offence]] that, depending on the circumstances, may be a crime under state law, federal law, or both, with the definition of the crime of embezzlement varying according to the statutes of the jurisdiction in which charges are filed. Typical elements of the crime of embezzlement are the fraudulent [[criminal conversion|conversion]] of the [[property]] of another person by the person who has lawful possession of the property.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Singer |first1=Richard G. |last2=La Fond |first2=John Q. |title=Criminal Law |date=2001 |publisher=Wolters Kluwer |isbn=978-0735562431 |page=261 |edition=4}}</ref>

{{ordered list|list_style_type=lower-roman
| '''Fraudulence''': The requirement that the conversion be fraudulent requires that the embezzler willfully, and without claim of right or mistake, converted the entrusted property to their own use.
| '''Criminal conversion''': Embezzlement is a crime against ownership, that is, voiding the right of the owner to control the disposition and use of the property entrusted to the embezzler.<ref name="Singer 1987 p. 213">Singer & LaFond, ''Criminal Law'' (Aspen 1987) p. 213.</ref> The element of criminal conversion requires substantial interference with the property rights of the owner (unlike [[larceny]], wherein the slightest movement of the property, when accompanied by the intent to permanently deprive the owner of possession of the property is sufficient cause).<ref name="Singer 1987 p. 213">Singer & LaFond, ''Criminal Law'' (Aspen 1987) p. 213.</ref>
| '''Property''': Embezzlement statutes do not limit the scope of the crime to conversions of personal property. Statutes generally include conversion of tangible personal property, intangible personal property, and [[choses]] in action. [[Real property]] is not typically included.
| '''Of another''': A person cannot embezzle their own property.
| '''Lawful possession''': The critical element is that the embezzler must have been in lawful possession of the property at the time of the fraudulent conversion, and not merely have custody of the property. If the thief had lawful possession of the property, the crime is embezzlement; if the thief merely had custody, the crime at common law is [[larceny]].<ref>Singer & LaFond, Criminal Law (Aspen 1987) p. 261.</ref>}}

In 2005–2009 the United States had 18,000 to 22,000<ref name="em-us"/> arrests for embezzlement per year, and 13,500 arrests in 2019.<ref name="oijdp">{{Cite web |title=Arrests by offense, age, and gender |url=https://www.ojjdp.gov/ojstatbb/crime/ucr.asp?table_in=1 |access-date=2020-11-26 |website=www.ojjdp.gov}}</ref> A 2009 journal article reported estimates that three quarters of medical professionals would suffer from embezzlement at least once in their career.<ref name="mpm">{{Cite journal |last1=Mathis |first1=Deborah R. |last2=Lewis |first2=Michael S.  |date=November 2009 |title=Employee Embezzlement: A Growing Problem |url=https://www.proquest.com/openview/c222d0397b84ca09e99bf00077cc25af/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=32264 |journal=Journal of Medical Practice Management: MPM |language=en |volume=25 |issue=3 |pages=146–148 |pmid=20073167 |via=ProQuest}}</ref>

In 2018 the average embezzlement stole $360,000.<ref name="hiscox">{{Cite web |last=Wakefield Research |date=2018-11-26 |title=2018 Hiscox Embezzlement Study |url=https://www.hiscox.com/documents/2018-Hiscox-Embezzlement-Study.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190417184326/https://www.hiscox.com/documents/2018-Hiscox-Embezzlement-Study.pdf |archive-date=2019-04-17 |access-date=2020-11-26 |website=Hiscox Insurance}}</ref> The estimated losses in 2005–2009 (including the many with no arrest) were $400 billion per year.<ref name="em-us">{{Cite web |last=National White Collar Crime Center |date=November 2010 |title=Embezzlement in the Great Recession – National White Collar Crime ... |url=https://www.yumpu.com/en/document/read/36708576/embezzlement-in-the-great-recession-national-white-collar-crime- |access-date=2020-11-26 |website=yumpu.com |language=en}}</ref> In 2018 companies brought charges in 45% of cases.<ref name="hiscox"/>

85% of incidents involved an embezzler who was a manager or higher. The average incident involved three embezzlers, and 79% of incidents involved more than one embezzler. 70% of cases went undetected for over a year, and 31% lasted over three years. The average embezzler had worked at the company for eight years. 39% of financial professionals who experienced embezzlements had experienced a prior incident of it. After the embezzlement, only 26% of companies added security and audit requirements, 27% increased spending on audits, and 29% reviewed their anti-fraud controls frequently. However 97% of companies which had experienced embezzlement were "confident the anti-fraud controls in place&nbsp;... would prevent future embezzlement".<ref name="hiscox"/>