Facts:
My client is a green card holder from India who worked at a local gas station as a cashier. After working for several months, the owner accused him of stealing from the register and giving free merchandise and unauthorized discounts to patrons without management approval. Rather than handle the matter internally, the gas station called the police and my client was arrested for felony grand theft.
After my client was arrested, he contacted our office for a consultation. We went over his case, potential defenses, and his relationship with his employer. After he hired us, we contacted the prosecutor and the business owner. The prosecutor was asking that our client repay just under $1,000.00 that the business was alleging he stole. However, in speaking with our client, after the business fired him, they did not pay him for his last two weeks of work for the business. This amount exceeded the amount the business claimed he stole.
The Result:
When we informed the prosecutor that the business had wrongfully withheld my client’s pay checks, the prosecutor immediately dropped the charges. My client is grateful as he was going through the immigration process and this would have likely complicated his application.