embezzlement

/ɛmˈbɛzəlmɪnt/

/ɛmˈbɛzəlmənt/

Other forms: embezzlements

If you are glee club treasurer, and you pocket twenty glee dollars saying you used it to buy lozenges, you are committing embezzlement, the theft of money or property that you officially manage.

In order for stealing to be embezzlement, you need to both be in charge of the funds or property you are stealing, and you need to conceal your theft. Because of this, it is classified as a type of fraud. People who commit embezzlement often create fake paper trails — receipts, canceled checks, false signatures — to hide their crime.

Definitions of embezzlement

1. noun

   the fraudulent appropriation of funds or property entrusted to your care but actually owned by someone else
   synonyms: defalcation, misapplication, misappropriation, peculation

   types:

   raid

   an attempt by speculators to defraud investors

   plunderage

   the act of plundering (especially the embezzlement of goods on shipboard)

   type of:

   larceny, stealing, theft, thievery, thieving

   the act of taking something from someone unlawfully