How an Experienced Southern California Embezzlement Attorney Can Help You Fight Embezzlement Charges

It was recently reported that a former California State Bar employee was sentenced to two years and eight months in prison and ordered to pay $900,000 in restitution for stealing $675,000 from the agency.

Sharon Pearl was charged with embezzlement and six separate counts of filing false income tax returns. Pearl used the $675,000 she stole from the agency to fund a lavish lifestyle for herself, spending the money on expensive clothes, spa treatments, dinners, and nights at expensive hotels.

As the State Bar’s Director of Real Property, Pearl was in charge of collecting rent money from tenants at the agency’s San Francisco headquarters. She also had a separate position overseeing the accounts of the Piedmont Light Opera Theater. According to prosecutors, Pearl asked tenants of the State Bar to make their rent checks out to “PLOT – The State Bar of California” – PLOT standing for the Piedmont Light Opera Theater. Pearl deposited the rent checks meant for the State Bar into the theater’s bank account and then transferred the money into her own personal account. After six years, State Bar officials discovered the accounting discrepancies and fired her in October 2008.

After the trial, Pearl’s attorney, Mark Cohen, stated she “deeply regretted her actions” and had already paid $393,000 in restitution. Cohen also accused the State Bar of using Pearl as a scapegoat to help cover for the agency’s lack of internal financial controls. Assistant Attorney General Ronald Smetana acknowledged the agency had no mechanism in place to track the payments it should have been receiving from tenants.

If you are accused of embezzlement, it is vital that you call the Southern California defense attorneys at Wallin & Klarich. Our attorneys have over 40 years of experience successfully defending clients of embezzlement and theft-related charges. We will go over your case with you in great detail and provide you with the best possible defense. Call Wallin & Klarich today at 1-888-749-0034 or www.wklaw.com for a consultation of your case. We can help you.