If you need to go to Court for your Madison Heights Michigan misdemeanor or felony retail fraud allegation, you need an experienced and dedicated criminal defense lawyer who will fight for you and your future. No matter if your accusation is from a national franchise (such as Target, Sams Club, or Costco) or a locally based Madison Heights store we can help defend you. Get Hilf & Hilf, PLC on your side for immediate legal action and aggressive steps taken toward achieving the best results. Shoplifting defense specialist Daniel Hilf appears at the 43rd District Court (at 200 West 13 Mile Road, Madison Heights, 48071), the 6th Circuit Court, and throughout Oakland County on a regular basis, zealously and professionally defending all retail fraud charges.
Having to appear at the 43rd District Court or the 6th Circuit Court may seem overwhelming and depressing, but it is important to remember that facing a retail fraud allegation does not make you a bad person. In fact, retail fraud is prosecuted daily by the Madison Heights City Attorney and the Oakland County Prosecutor’s Office, but it is often based on one single allegation of attempted retail theft due to a temporary lapse in judgment. However, just because shoplifting charges are regularly heard daily at the 43rd District Court and elsewhere in Oakland County it does not mean that there are not serious consequences or that it will not affect your life for a long time in a negative way. Any retail fraud conviction can have a life lasting repercussions, because a sentence from this conviction may include any or or a combination of the following outcomes: the loss of your freedom (incarceration); probation with strict supervisory conditions; loss of employment; professional licensing issues (for lawyers, accountants, nurses, stock brokers, and other positions that require State or Federal licensing); loss of educational opportunities; steep fines and costs; immigration complications (for persons that are not United States citizens); and personal embarrassment. Without a doubt – you need professional, top rated lawyer who is one hundred percent on your side dedicated to achieving great results.
A retail theft charge is predicated upon a variety of behaviors, such as: when store merchandise is stolen or an attempt to steal store merchandise is made; when the price tag of the merchandise is intentionally changed to a lower price to defraud the store; or when merchandise is fraudulently exchanged in order to obtain money or other store merchandise. Felony and misdemeanor retail fraud charges that are prosecuted at the 43rd District Court in Madison Heights and other Michigan courtrooms include the following:
First Degree Retail Fraud is a felony charge that carries up to a 5 year maximum prison sentence (the Court, however, can choose to be merciful and impose a term of probation instead of any form of incarceration) 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 Court, however, can choose to be merciful and impose a term of probation instead of any form of incarceration) that is also subject to applicable habitual offender sentencing provisions. The allegation is prosecuted when the prosecution believes it has probable cause that the intent of the Defendant is to commit retail fraud from one or more stores and then resell the stolen merchandise to others.
Second Degree Retail Fraud is a misdemeanor charge that carries up to a 1 year maximum county jail sentence ((the Court, however, can choose to be merciful and impose a term of probation instead of any form of incarceration), 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 Court, however, can choose to be merciful and impose a term of probation instead of any form of incarceration), 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 (the Court, however, can choose to be merciful and impose a term of probation instead of any form of incarceration), that is prosecuted under State law.
Many businesses in Madison Heights and across the United States have developed well thought out loss prevention policies with the goal of reducing shoplifting losses, avoiding contested litigation, and deterring other forms of store theft (such as embezzlement and credit card fraud). It is now common for a coordinated and well trained team of asset protection employees with high-tech loss prevention detection equipment (such as merchandise sensors and closed circuit television) to be found within a store. Even with the best technology and thorough training, mistakes are still made and persons are still sometimes falsely arrested due to errors in judgment (such as false identification and false interpretation of a situation), cultural related issues, and procedural errors.
If you choose to hire lawyer Daniel Hilf, he will 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. Attorney Hilf will provide you with solid, well reasoned advice concerning whether to conduct a trial in front of your assigned Judge or jury, or whether to choose to accept a plea or plea bargain and try and persuade the Judge to sentence you favorably. It is completely your choice to elect to try and obtain a plea bargain (an agreement with the prosecution to dismiss or reduce the charge(s) against you) or try to obtain 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) or proceed to trial to try and obtain an outright acquittal.
You should not delay with your decision to hire zealous, top tier retail fraud defense representation to help you with your case. Again, a retail fraud conviction will likely cause a large number of complicated problems, in addition to criminal penalties, including making it extremely difficult to find a well paying job or your dream career, because many companies do not want to risk hiring someone convicted of theft. Hire a highly rated retail criminal defense advocate for your Madison Heights based allegation – lawyer Daniel Hilf – to help you. Attorney Daniel Hilf is highly respected throughout Oakland County due to his his legal acumen, and his over twenty years of experience inside and outside of Michigan courtrooms helping individuals like yourself fight for favorable results.
If you have Court due to an alleged Madison Heights retail fraud incident, now is the time to make an impactful and wise decision concerning your in court representation. Contact Hilf & Hilf, PLC to schedule an appointment to obtain the legal representation that you need to help defend your retail fraud charge.