In order to stay in business, companies in Texas need to receive money from their customers and clients. People within the company take control of the money coming in and are responsible for depositing the money into the appropriate accounts. Others are responsible for the accounting to keep track of the money received and the money going out.
People who have control over receiving the money and the accounting for it are trusted by the company to do their jobs correctly. They are expected to keep all company money in the appropriate accounts. Sometimes people in these positions do not have much oversight though and are trusted by the company.
There are times when employees may find easy ways to keep some money for themselves as they have control over it and also may be in charge of the accounting as well. If people do this it could be considered embezzlement. This is a type of theft, but is unique in that the people had legal control of the money when the theft occurred.
Different methods of embezzlement
There are different ways people may accomplish this though. Some will skim small amounts off the top so it is hard to tell that money is missing. Others may underreport the amount that they received for the company and then keep the difference for themselves. This is also harder to detect. Others may simply take a large sum at one time and then just leave knowing it will be detected quickly.
Even though there are different methods, it is all considered embezzlement and is charged as a theft in Texas. The potential penalties depend on the circumstances, but typically the total amount taken will determine the severity of the potential consequences. When people are charged with crimes though, they are innocent until proven guilty and they may have defenses. Being charged does not automatically lead to convictions and people charged will have to go through the criminal justice system before potentially being convicted.