If you are an individual serving in public office or a trustee of public funds, you hold the position out of trust. You are expected to use the money under your control appropriately and for the benefit of the public. Unfortunately, several cases have been reported of local and state government officials engaging in the misappropriation of public funds. Due to the increase in cases, prosecutors, law enforcement, and other government authorities are pursuing these cases aggressively even though they are white-collar crimes. Misappropriating public money is a felony that attracts harsh penalties.

At California Criminal Lawyer Group in Santa Ana, we understand how a sentence for this white-collar crime could have far-reaching consequences on your professional, social and personal life. Therefore, if you have been arrested, do not hesitate to reach out to our experienced criminal lawyers. We will review the allegations and conduct an independent investigation to develop solid legal defenses to poke holes in the prosecuting team’s evidence.

Legal Definition of Misappropriation of Public Funds

As per PEN 424, misappropriation of public money occurs when a public officer or a trustee of government money misuses finances under their control. The offense usually has far-reaching consequences because many government projects are never started or completed, denying locals development. The defendants in these crimes are often people who oversee or handle public money. If you are any of these individuals, you violate PC 424 in many ways, including:

  1. Appropriating Or Misappropriating Public Finances without Consent

You can misuse public money by appropriating it to unlawfully enrich yourself or illegally distributing the money to other individuals without consent. If you violate PEN 424 in this way, the prosecutor must prove the following facts beyond reasonable certainty:

  • You are a government official charged or responsible for the safekeeping, receiving, transferring, and distributing of public money.
  • You breached the law by appropriating or embezzling money to yourself or other persons without the law’s consent.
  • You knew that appropriation was illegal or was criminally negligent for not taking the necessary measures to ensure the appropriations were legal.

An individual charged or trusted with public money includes elected and appointed officials. Additionally, it could be a government accountant or lawyer.

You can only face charges for PEN 424 violation if you have been entrusted with public funds. You have a duty, responsibility, or oversight of government funds' safekeeping, receipt, transfer, and distribution.

The legal expression “appropriating public money” means using it to enrich yourself or another person, like a close family member or friend.

The other critical element the prosecuting team must prove is that you knew your actions of appropriating public money were unlawful, but you did it anyway. The knowledge that your conduct was illegal does not mean you understand every aspect of the law. Nevertheless, it means you were aware that non-criminal laws prohibit the behavior.

Or, you were criminally negligent for failing to learn whether it was a breach of the law to make the appropriation. Criminal negligence has a higher liability level than ordinary negligence. Ordinary negligence means you failed to exercise standard care, while criminal negligence involves gross, reckless, or aggravated conduct.

  1. Profiting From, Misappropriating, or Loaning Public Money Without Authority

The second primary way of misusing public money is by offering unauthorized or illegal loans. When proving this fact, the prosecutor must demonstrate that:

  • You are a public officer or trustee of public money.
  • Non-criminal statutes authorized or barred you from loaning or profiting from public money or using it in particular circumstances.
  • You loaned the money, profited from it, or used the funds for unauthorized purposes.
  • You knew that your actions were illegal or criminally negligent for failing to determine whether your activities were lawful or unlawful.

  1. Creating False Accounts, Altering or Fraudulently Destroying Accounts

Another way you can violate PEN 424 is by falsely erasing or creating accounts that hold government money. When this violation occurs, you face charges for keeping a false bank account or altering a real one with faulty materials. The prosecutor must prove that you altered, concealed, falsified, or obliterated funds of or associated with public money with the desire to defraud.

  1. Refusing to Transfer or Pay Public Funds

You will face conviction if the prosecution can prove that:

  • You deliberately refused or omitted to pay somebody else or someone authorized by the law, or
  • Willfully omitted, declined to transfer or pay public money under your control after receiving an order or warrant by the authority when the law required you to do so.

Exceptions to PEN 424 Violation

PEN 424 does not punish the misappropriation of insignificant or small amounts of public money. Also, the law makes an exemption if the money is incidental. Therefore, if any of these exemptions apply to your case, the California Criminal Lawyer Group can come to your rescue and present evidence against the charges to have the case dismissed.

Prosecuting Misuse of Public Money Cases

Most public officials engaging in the misuse of public money know how to hide their trails, making it challenging for the prosecutor to form a solid case. Despite this, prosecutors still find ways to build concrete charges against the defendant. If you are a defendant, the prosecutor must use the following methods to show you engaged in a PEN 424 violation:

You Were Legally Obligated to Manage the Money

You could face conviction if the prosecutor can show you had the legal duty to manage the government finances. The element is easy to prove, primarily when the employer can avail the employment documents containing your work description. You will be charged if your work description shows that your responsibility during the violation was managing or controlling the public money. If the prosecutor cannot demonstrate this element, you will not face any charges.

You Engaged in a Violation of Your Job Responsibilities

Before being hired, appointed, or elected as a public official, you must sign an agreement stating that you understand the specific terms of your employment. If your role involves handling or managing public funds, you must agree to the condition discouraging misuse of public money for personal benefits. The prosecutor will find your employment contract and cite the contravened clause when you misappropriate the funds. However, the assertion will work if you sign the agreement willingly.

You Fraudulently Used the Finances to Unlawfully Enrich Yourself or Another Person

PEN 424 (a)(1) criminalizes using public funds on yourself or other individuals. PC 424(a)(2) prohibits loaning or profiting from public money without consent. The prosecutor will provide receipts of the personal stuff you face allegations of buying using public funds. Also, they will produce bank statements as evidence for the case.

You Established a Fabricated Account or Altered a Present Account

Here, the prosecutor will use bank reports from the accounts you created or the false entries you made to prove the misappropriation of public money. When you face allegations of making incorrect material entries to existing accounts, the prosecutor will produce previous bank records and match them with the recent ones to prove the accounts were altered or changed.

You Deliberately Refused to Disburse Funds to the Intended Parties

When authorities issue orders or warrants to pay or disburse public funds to various recipients but fail to do so, you face charges of misuse of public money. Proving this element is not complicated because all the prosecutor needs is to produce the order, subpoena, or warrant that mandate you to transfer the public finances in your possession. Besides, your colleagues, recipients of the money, and expert witnesses can testify against you.

Penalties for a PEN 424 Violation Sentence

A violation of PC 424 is a felony punishable by formal or felony probation, up to forty-eight months in jail or prison, or monetary court fines of no more than $10,000.

Additionally, a conviction for the offense will affect your employment because you will be unfit to hold any public office in California.

What to Expect in Your PC 424 Violation Case

You must seek legal advice fast when you learn of an impending arrest or are apprehended for misappropriation of public money. At California Criminal Lawyer Group, we are ready to offer the guidance you need to face these challenging times of your life.

When anyone in your department is alleged to have misused public money, everyone becomes a suspect. During investigations or even after an arrest, you should be impartial and cooperate with the investigating officers. However, even though you should cooperate, do not reveal crucial details of the case to the investigators as what you say will be used against you in court. If you are unsure what to say to the authorities, it is best to remain silent.

After the arrest, you will be placed in a police cell awaiting booking. Once the booking process is over for a bail hearing before the officers will present you in court for a bail hearing. In the hearing, your lawyer will explain why the court should release you pending trial. On the other hand, the prosecution will make counter assertions opposing your pre-trial release. The judge will then weigh arguments from both sides to grant or deny bail.

The bail amount often depends on the money misappropriated. When big public money is in question, the court will impose tens of thousands of dollars as a court fine. The fine is not a punishment for misusing public funds but an assurance you will not skip court during the scheduled dates. It is always advisable to seek a release on bail because you will have plenty of time to discuss the case with your lawyer. However, even if the court denies bail, you should find time to discuss the matter in detail with your attorney as part of the preparations for trial.

White-collar crimes, primarily misappropriation of public funds, have a severe negative impact on society. Therefore, you should expect the prosecuting team to make fierce accusations against you, and if their evidence is more convincing than yours, the case will proceed to trial. Nonetheless, your case is not entirely hopeless. With the help of your lawyer, you will counter the prosecutor’s claims against you, increasing the chances of the case not progressing to the next level. And even if the case proceeds to trial, your defense lawyer will be critical in mounting legal defense strategies for a favorable outcome.

Legal Defenses for Misuse of Public Money

A sentence for misuse of public money will have severe consequences on every aspect of your life. You risk losing your job, ruining your reputation, and having a criminal record. It will be worse if you are a high position official because the press will be on your case. Luckily, having a knowledgeable criminal defense lawyer on your side can increase the odds of a positive outcome at the end of the trial. An experienced lawyer will devise various legal defenses to fight the charges. These defenses are:

  1. The Finances in Question are Incidental or Minimal

For the court to prosecute a charge for a PEN 424 violation, the misappropriated money must be more or beyond incidental or minimal. The law does not give a precise definition of minimal or incidental, making the amount open to interpretation and dependent on the case’s circumstances. A PC 424 violation charge can only proceed when the amount in question is substantial. If it fails to meet this threshold, the judge will dismiss the count.

Your lawyer can use this as your defense and argue that the amount you are accused of misusing was not substantial, and the case should be dismissed because the threshold provided by the law has not been met.

  1. Lack of Criminal Negligence or Awareness

You are only guilty of a PC 424 violation if you knew your actions were illegal or were criminally negligent for not finding out your conduct was a contravention of the law. And because criminal negligence has a higher evidentiary standard than ordinary negligence, the prosecutor must prove your behavior was reckless or gross. Meeting this degree of guilt is not easy, meaning as the defendant, you can easily challenge the prosecution’s arguments.

Your lawyer can argue that even though you misused public money, you did not realize your actions were against the law. The defense would work, mainly if you did not engage in any effort to conceal your activities.

Nonetheless, even if you lack awareness of the law, when you hold a position like yours, you have a responsibility to learn whether your activities are unlawful or not. A sober person would have made efforts to determine the legality of their actions under the same circumstances. Even if you did not make these efforts, you would only be ordinarily negligent, which is insufficient to convict you for misappropriating public money.

  1. You Used the Money for the Intended Purpose

When you face accusations of using public funds for selfish benefits, you can assert that money went to the specified target or purpose. Your lawyer will utilize bank statements and payment receipts to prove that money was paid to the intended party or directed to a particular project as authorized. Furthermore, you can claim you were not aware your actions were illegal or did not desire to commit the offense. Instead, it was a mistake of fact or law.

  1. Your Actions Were out of Necessity

Public finances are usually stored in a secure account and are accessible to a few authorized individuals. Therefore, when you face a misappropriation of public money charge, you can assert that you committed the white-collar crime to avert more severe consequences or misuse from other individuals with access to the account. An excellent example is using the money for an unauthorized project to prevent embezzlement. However, you must have tried to contact the police, but they never responded, or you never had the chance to report the issue for the defense to work.

  1. You Acted Under Coercion or Fear

Another defense for misappropriation of funds is arguing that you committed the offense because you reasonably believed your safety or wellbeing was in danger. You can say that your superiors at work pressured you to use the money in a particular way without authority. For the judge to pardon the case, you must present evidence of the coercion or threats. Text messages or recorded phone calls are adequate to demonstrate your actions were triggered by fear or threats.

Related Offenses

Several offenses can be charged along with or instead of PEN 424 violation. The common crimes that popup during prosecution of misuse of public money cases are:

PEN 503 Embezzlement

Embezzlement is the misuse of money or property entrusted to you or belonging to another person. The difference between embezzlement and misappropriation of public funds is that PEN 503 focuses on private or public property. Also, you will face conviction for the crime if you convert the embezzled property to enrich yourself or deprive the rightful owner of its benefits or use. The offense is commonly charged alongside PEN 424, where the stolen money belongs to the public.

Bribery of a Public Official

PEN 67 and 68 prohibit the bribery of or by government officials. Most defendants in these cases are government employees, but even the ordinary citizen could face prosecution for bribing or attempting to bribe a government employee. PC 67 and 68 prohibit offering or trying to offer a valuable item or money to a government worker. Additionally, it forbids civil servants from soliciting money or valuable items to engage in corruption.

When you are the person bribing a public official, you face misdemeanor charges. On the other hand, if you are the person soliciting the bribe, you will face felony penalties.

Signs You are Under Investigation for Misappropriation of Public Finances

Law enforcement authorities adopt various techniques in their investigations, with some methods being better than others. Nonetheless, you must be in a position to tell when you are under investigation to seek legal help early.

When under investigation, you are likely to notice police cars near your home or place of work. Also, you may notice your friends, colleagues, or family being interrogated by the authorities or other people likely to be police informants. Again, if you notice unusual texts or friend requests on your social media platforms, it could be a sign you are under investigation.

Sadly, not many people can tell when the police are investigating their PC 424 violation which explains why arrests catch them unaware. At the California Criminal Lawyer Group, we encourage you to contact our lawyers immediately if you suspect you are under investigation. First, we will use our contacts in various law enforcement agencies to determine if the authorities are investigating you. If it is true, we will establish the reason for the investigations and advise you on the possible charges and the possible outcome if the case proceeds to trial. Once you understand what is at stake, we will help you take the necessary steps to ensure a favorable outcome.

Your Rights During Investigations

Police investigations can be confusing, especially if it is your first time. You do not know what to do or tell the police, and this is where your criminal lawyer comes in. A lawyer will help you understand your rights, like the fourth amendment rights, protecting you from illegal search and seizure. So, before authorities can search your premises, workplace, or vehicle, they need a valid search warrant. A judge issues this warrant if the investigating officers can demonstrate probable cause to find evidence for misuse of public money in the areas they plan on searching.

Similarly, the Fifth Amendment protects you from forced or coerced confessions by allowing you to exercise the right to remain silent. With these rights, you can cooperate with the officers but refuse to answer their questions until your lawyer is present. It protects you from disclosing info that can be used against you in court.

Find an Experienced White Collar Crimes Lawyer Near Me

If you face PEN 424 violation counts in Santa Ana, do not hesitate to seek legal guidance because your freedom, livelihood, social status, and reputation are on the line. You need a zealous lawyer willing to investigate the case’s facts and find legal defenses and mitigating facts for a favorable result. The California Criminal Lawyer Group has represented many people in these cases in the past and is ready to do the same for you. Call us today at 714-844-4151 for a free consultation.