If you need to go to Court for your Novi Michigan misdemeanor or felony retail fraud allegation, you need an experienced and exceptional criminal defense lawyer who will fight on your behalf. No matter if your accusation is from a shopping Mall such as Twelve Oaks, a national retail store, or a locally based Novi business we can help defend you. Get Hilf & Hilf, PLC on your side for immediate action and positive steps taken toward achieving the best results for your circumstances. Shoplifting criminal defense specialist Daniel Hilf appears before the Judges at the 52-1 District Court (in Novi), the 6th Circuit Court, and throughout Oakland County on a regular basis, aggressively defending all retail fraud charges.
Having to go before a 52-1 District Court Judge or 6th Circuit Court Judge may seem depressing and overwhelming, 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 by the Novi City Attorney and the Oakland County Prosecutor’s Office on a daily basis, but it is often predicated on one single allegation of attempted retail theft due to a temporary lapse in judgment. However, just because shoplifting accusations are heard daily and frequently at the 52-1 District Court and elsewhere in Oakland County it does not mean that there are not serious long term repercussions or that it will not affect your life in a negative way. Any retail fraud conviction can have a life lasting impact, because a sentence from this conviction may include any or all 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 experienced and highly rated lawyer who is one hundred percent on your side working on your behalf.
A retail theft charge is rooted in a variety of theft related 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 allegations that are commonly prosecuted at the 52-1 District Court in Novi 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 Judge, however, can choose to impose a term of probation instead of imposing any 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 Judge, however, can choose to impose a term of probation instead of imposing any 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 Judge, however, can choose to impose a term of probation instead of imposing any 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 Judge, however, can choose to impose a term of probation instead of imposing any 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 Judge, however, can choose to impose a term of probation instead of imposing any incarceration), that is prosecuted under State law.
Many businesses in Novi and across the United States have developed well thought out, comprehensive loss prevention policies with the goal of reducing retail fraud losses, avoiding contested litigation, and deterring overall store theft. It is now common for a coordinated team of asset protection employees and high-tech equipment (such as merchandise sensors and closed circuit television) to be found within a store for the purpose of combating the liabilities and costs associated with retail theft. Even with state of the art technology and up to date 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 issues, and procedural errors.
If you choose to hire Daniel Hilf to be your lawyer for your retail fraud case case, 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. He will provide you with strong and solid advice concerning whether to conduct a trial in front of a 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 ultimately for you to decide if you want 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 acquittal.
You should not delay with your decision to hire aggressive retail fraud defense representation to help you. A retail fraud conviction will likely cause a whole host of problems in addition to criminal penalties, including making it extremely difficult to find a well paying job or career, because many companies do not want to risk hiring someone convicted of theft. Hire a highly rated retail criminal defense attorney for your Novi based allegation – attorney Daniel Hilf – to help you. Attorney Hilf is widely respected throughout Oakland County, 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 Novi Michigan shoplifting 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.