Retail Fraud Attorney Southfield MI

 If you’ve been charged with misdemeanor or felony retail fraud in Southfield, you need an experienced Oakland County criminal defense attorney who will fight for you.   No matter if your accusation is from a national chain retailer, or a local Southfield business we can help. Get Hilf & Hilf, PLC to defend you for swift action toward the obtaining positive results. Attorney Daniel Hilf, of Hilf & Hilf, PLC, frequently appears at the 46th District Court, the 6th Circuit Court, and throughout Oakland county defending shoplifting charges.  

Having to deal with a retail fraud charge does not make you a bad person.  In fact, retail fraud is a regularly prosecuted offense by the Southfield City Attorney and the Oakland County Prosecutor's Office, but it is often based only upon an single incident of attempted shoplifting due to a temporary lapse in judgment.  However, just because retail theft accusations are commonly heard in courtrooms in Southfield it does not mean that there are not serious consequences or that it will not affect your life in a very negative way, because any criminal record for shoplifting can have a long lasting impact.  A conviction for shoplifting may either include and/or cause you any or all of the following: the loss of your freedom (incarceration); probation with strictly monitored conditions; loss of employment; professional licensing issues (for lawyers, accountants, nurses, stock brokers, etc.); loss of educational opportunities; steep fines and costs; immigration complications (for persons that are not United States citizens); and personal embarrassment.  If you are faced with this accusation, you need a defense attorney who is on your side that you can trust.

Different types of alleged in store conduct by an individual can lead to a retail theft charge: when store merchandise is stolen or an attempt to steal store merchandise is made; the price tag of the merchandise is intentionally changed to a lower price to defraud the store; or merchandise is fraudulently exchanged in order to obtain money, credit, or other store merchandise.  Felony and misdemeanor retail theft offenses that are commonly and routinely prosecuted in Southfield include:

First Degree Retail Fraud is a felony charge that carries up to a 5 year maximum prison sentence (the Judge is not required to impose any amount of time in jail or prison) that is prosecuted when the merchandise involved is $1,000 (one thousand dollars) or more, or if the merchandise involved is $200 (two hundred dollars) or more and the person has a prior theft conviction.  

Organized Retail Theft is felony charge that carries up to a 5 year maximum prison sentence (the Judge is not required to impose any amount of time in jail or prison) , that is also subject to applicable habitual offender sentencing provisions.  The offense is charged when the prosecution has probable cause to believe that the alleged intent of the Defendant is to shoplift and then resell the stolen merchandise to another person or business.

Second Degree Retail Fraud is a misdemeanor charge that carries up to a 1 year maximum county jail sentence (the Judge is not required to impose any amount of time in jail) , that is prosecuted when the merchandise involved is at least $200 (two hundred dollars) but less than $1000 (one thousand dollars), or if the merchandise involved is under $200 (two hundred dollars) and the person has a prior theft conviction.  

Third Degree Retail Fraud is a misdemeanor charge that carries up to a 93 day maximum county jail sentence (the Judge is not required to impose any amount of time in jail) , that is prosecuted under either State law or local ordinance, when the merchandise involved in the offense is less than $200 (two hundred dollars).

Removal of a Theft Detection Device is a misdemeanor charges that carries up to a 365 day maximum county jail sentence (the Judge is not required to impose any amount of time in jail), that is prosecuted under State law.

Hire a Top Rated Southfield Michigan Lawyer Who Specializes in Defending Shoplifting Accusations

Many national and local store merchants and businesses in Southfield have implemented well thought out loss prevention related procedures with the goal of reducing retail fraud losses and insurance costs, avoiding litigation, and deterring store theft.  It is not uncommon for a team of loss prevention personnel and sophisticated shoplifting prevention equipment (merchandise sensors, closed circuit television, etc.) to be employed to fight the costs and losses associated with retail fraud.  Even with the latest theft detection related technology and loss prevention training for employees, mistakes are still made and individuals are still sometimes falsely arrested due to errors in judgment (false identification, false interpretation of a situation, etc.), cultural issues, and procedural errors.

Your retained lawyer should immediately seek to obtain all the available discovery materials to fully and properly defend you, which can include the following: police report(s), loss prevention report(s), witness statement(s), in store video(s), police video(s), photograph(s), statement(s) the police and/or loss prevention claims that you made, etc.  You have a Constitutional right to a Judge or jury trial and to vigorously fight the accusation, or you can opt to accept a plea or plea bargain and try and persuade the Judge to be lenient with you. It is your decision to seek a plea bargain (an agreement with the prosecution to dismiss or reduce the charge(s) against you) or to seek a favorable sentence agreement (an agreement with the Judge and/or prosecutor to impose a specific sentence, such as avoiding or limiting any term of confinement).  

Your number one priority is to hire the right retail fraud defense lawyer to help you obtain the best possible result for your case.  As stated earlier, a shoplifting conviction will likely cause you a heap of problems in addition to the criminal penalties, including making it extremely hard to find a job or to build a career, because many companies do not want to risk hiring someone convicted of theft.  Retain a leading and respected retail defense lawyer for your Southfield case  - attorney Daniel Hilf - to help you.  He has over twenty years of experience inside and outside of courtrooms helping individuals like yourself achieve favorable results.

If you have been accused of retail theft in Southfield Michigan, now is the time to help yourself by making an impactful, intelligent, and wise decision to contact Hilf & Hilf, PLC right away.