Retail Fraud Attorney Rochester Hills

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Being arrested or receiving a ticket for a retail fraud charge (also known as shoplifting or retail theft) does not make you a bad person.  In fact, retail fraud is prosecuted offense by both Oakland County and Rochester Hills prosecutors daily, but it is often based only upon an single incident due to a momentary lapse in judgment.  However, just because retail fraud accusations are commonly prosecuted, it does not mean that there are not long term consequences or that it will not affect your life in a bad way, because any criminal conviction for shoplifting will likely have a lasting impact.  A sentence for a shoplifting conviction may lead to any, all, or a combination of the following: the loss of your freedom (incarceration); probation with strict conditions; loss of job opportunities; 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 a retail fraud charge, you need to find the best available criminal defense attorney who will aggressively fight for the best result.

There are several different theories a prosecutor can use to pursue a shoplifting charge: when store merchandise is stolen or an attempt to steal store merchandise is made by one or more individuals; the price tag of the merchandise is intentionally misrepresented or changed; or merchandise is fraudulently exchanged for money or other store merchandise.  There are a few felony and misdemeanor retail theft offenses that are commonly prosecuted at the 52/3 District Court in Rochester Hills, including:

First Degree Retail Fraud is a felony charge that carries up to a 5 year maximum prison sentence (the Judge, however, has the option to impose no incarceration and require the completion of probation) 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, however, has the option to impose no incarceration and require the completion of probation), that is also subject to applicable habitual offender sentencing provisions.  The offense occurs when the Defendant's alleged intent is to commit a retail fraud and to resell the stolen (or attempted 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, however, has the option to impose no incarceration and require the completion of probation), 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, however, has the option to impose no incarceration and require the completion of probation), 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 1 year maximum county jail sentence under State law (the Judge, however, has the option to impose no incarceration and require the completion of probation).

Hire a Top Rated Lawyer near Rochester Hills that Specializes in the Defense of Retail Fraud Charges

Many retail stores in Rochester Hills have implemented loss prevention strategies and procedures with the goal of reducing retail fraud losses and insurance costs, avoiding contested litigation, and deterring store theft in general.  It is not uncommon for retail stores to hire asset protection personnel and use expensive retail theft prevention equipment (sensors, closed circuit television, etc.) to combat the costs and liabilities associated with shoplifting.  Even with the most up to date retail theft prevention equipment and with many hours of employee training, mistakes are still made and persons are still sometimes falsely arrested due to errors in judgment (such as false identification, false interpretation of a situation), cultural issues, and procedural errors.

If you retain attorney Daniel Hilf of Hilf & Hilf, PLC, he will obtain all the available discovery materials to fully and properly defend the case, 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 will ultimately make the decision to go to trial trial in front of a Judge or jury and fight for a great outcome, or to accept a plea or plea bargain and try and persuade the Judge to be merciful and lenient.  Resolving your retail fraud accusation may include reaching a plea bargain (an agreement with the prosecution to dismiss or reduce the charge(s) against you) or reaching a sentence agreement (an agreement with the Judge and/or prosecutor to impose a specific sentence, such as avoiding or limiting any term of confinement), but these outcomes are not always offered.  

An important decision for you is to hire an aggressive, diligent retail fraud defense attorney to help you obtain the best possible result for your circumstances.  You need great legal representation because, as stated earlier, a shoplifting conviction will likely cause you many problems throughout your life, including making it extremely difficult to find a job or career, because many employers do not want to risk hiring someone convicted of theft.  Retain the leading Rochester Hills attorney for retail fraud cases - attorney Daniel Hilf - to properly and fully defend you.  He is a widely known, impassioned, criminal defense lawyer with over 20 years of experience inside and outside of Metro Detroit courtrooms helping clients fight for great results for shoplifting accusations.  Choose an experienced criminal defense lawyer to defend your shoplifting case the right way from start to finish!

If you have been accused of a retail theft offense in Rochester Hills Michigan, it's time to make an intelligent decision for your future to contact us right away.