If you need to go to Court in Warren Michigan or Macomb County because you have been charged with misdemeanor or felony retail fraud, you need an experienced criminal defense attorney who will fight for you. No matter if your accusation is from a chain retailer or a local Warren business we can help you with your case. Get Hilf & Hilf, PLC on your side for aggressive action and immediate steps taken toward obtaining positive results. Attorney Daniel Hilf routinely appears before the Judges at the 37th District Court, the 16th Circuit Court, and throughout Macomb county defending shoplifting charges.
Having to go to Court may seem 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 Warren City Attorney and the Macomb County Prosecutor’s Office, but it is often based only upon an single incident of attempted shoplifting due to a temporary lapse in judgment. However, just because shoplifting accusations are heard daily at the 37th District Court and elsewhere in Macomb County it does not mean that there are not serious consequences or that it will not affect your life in a bad way. Any criminal record for shoplifting can have a long lasting impact, because a shoplifting sentence may include and/or cause any or all of the following: the loss of your freedom (incarceration); probation with strict 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. If you are faced any type of theft allegation, you need a respected and experienced criminal defense attorney who is totally on your side.
A retail theft charge stems from a variety of behaviors: when store merchandise is stolen or an attempt to steal store merchandise is made; the price tag of the merchandise is intentionally changed to a lower price to defraud the store; or merchandise is fraudulently exchanged in order to obtain money or other store merchandise. Felony and misdemeanor retail theft offenses that are commonly prosecuted at the 37th District Court and other Michigan courtrooms include:
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 probation instead 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 Judge, however, can choose to impose probation instead of incarceration) that is also subject to applicable habitual offender sentencing provisions. The offense occurs when the prosecution believes that the alleged intent of the Defendant is to shoplift and then resell the stolen merchandise to another person or business.
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 probation instead 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 Judge, however, can choose to impose probation instead 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 Judge, however, can choose to impose probation instead of incarceration), that is prosecuted under State law.
Many merchants in Warren have implemented well thought out and comprehensive loss prevention related policies with the goal of reducing retail fraud losses and insurance costs, avoiding litigation, and deterring store theft. It is not uncommon for a team of asset prevention personnel and high-tech shoplifting prevention equipment (such as merchandise sensors and closed circuit television) to be used within a store to combat the costs and liabilities associated with retail fraud. Even with the best available technology and professional loss prevention training for employees, 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 retain attorney Daniel Hilf, he will obtain all the available discovery materials to fully and properly defend your case, 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 give you great advice concerning whether to conduct a trial in front of a Judge or jury and fight the accusation, or whether to choose to accept a plea or plea bargain and try and persuade the Judge to be lenient with you. It is up to you if you want to seek a plea bargain (an agreement with the prosecution to dismiss or reduce the charge(s) against you) or seek 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.
Your first important decision is to hire an experienced and zealous retail fraud defense attorney to help you obtain the best possible result for your circumstances. As stated earlier, a retail fraud conviction will likely cause you a whole host of problems in addition to criminal penalties, including making it extremely hard to find a job or career, because many companies do not want to risk hiring someone convicted of theft. Hire a leading and top rated retail criminal defense lawyer for your Warren case – attorney Daniel Hilf – to help you. Attorney Daniel Hilf is a widely respected attorney throughout the metro Detroit area with over twenty years of experience inside and outside of courtrooms helping individuals like yourself to fight for favorable results.
If you have been accused of retail theft in Warren Michigan, now is the time to make an impactful and wise decision concerning your court representation. Contact Hilf & Hilf, PLC right away for the legal help you need for your retail fraud case.