Michigan Embezzlement and Forgery Laws: Penalties (2026)

Michigan has a crime called embezzlement. Under MCL 750.174, an agent, servant, employee, trustee, bailee or custodian who fraudulently disposes of or converts money or property that came to them "by virtue of" that position "is guilty of embezzlement." It is generally a felony at $1,000 or more, punishable by up to 5 years and rising to 20 years at $100,000 or more. Separate sections cover public officers (750.175), banks (750.180) and vulnerable adults (750.174a), and forgery (750.248) and uttering and publishing (750.249) are 14-year felonies. For other states, see our guide to embezzlement and forgery laws by state.

Information last verified on 2026-10-17. This article has not been reviewed by a licensed lawyer.

Jurisdiction scope: This article covers Michigan's embezzlement statutes in the Penal Code (MCL 750.174 to 750.182, including 750.174a for vulnerable adults), the public-officer provisions (750.175, 750.478, 201.3 and Const 1963, art XI, sec 8), public retirement forfeiture (38.2702 to 38.2704a), the forgery and counterfeiting chapter (750.248 to 750.266), bad checks (750.131), identity theft penalties (445.69), racketeering, the civil triple-damages statute (600.2919a) and the sentencing guideline classes. It does not cover the full larceny table (see Michigan theft laws), the Banking Code and Credit Union Act, scams and victim reporting, federal offenses, or local ordinances.

What is embezzlement in Michigan?

Michigan treats embezzlement as its own offense, separate from larceny. MCL 750.174(1) defines it:

"(1) A person who as the agent, servant, or employee of another person, governmental entity within this state, or other legal entity or who as the trustee, bailee, or custodian of the property of another person, governmental entity within this state, or other legal entity fraudulently disposes of or converts to his or her own use, or takes or secretes with the intent to convert to his or her own use without the consent of his or her principal, any money or other personal property of his or her principal that has come to that person's possession or that is under his or her charge or control by virtue of his or her being an agent, servant, employee, trustee, bailee, or custodian, is guilty of embezzlement."

The section covers employees of governmental entities as well as private ones, and "money or other personal property" includes cryptocurrency (750.174(13)).

The elements, and the line between embezzlement and larceny

In People v Lueth, 253 Mich App 670 (2002), the Court of Appeals listed the elements of embezzlement by an agent under 750.174: "(1) the money in question must belong to the principal, (2) the defendant must have a relationship of trust with the principal as an agent or employee, (3) the money must come into the defendant's possession because of the relationship of trust, (4) the defendant dishonestly disposed of or converted the money to his own use or secreted the money, (5) the act must be without the consent of the principal, and (6) at the time of conversion, the defendant intended to defraud or cheat the principal." Lueth was decided before the 2006 and 2019 amendments to 750.174, which changed the value tiers and added cryptocurrency.

Elements 2 and 3 are what set embezzlement apart: the property must reach the person through the relationship of trust. Larceny is a separate offense under 750.356, and it has its own value tiers; for example, larceny of property worth $1,000 to under $20,000 is a felony punishable by up to 5 years (750.356(3)). Our Michigan theft laws page has the full larceny table.

Refusing to refund on demand

The statute addresses what happens when entrusted money is not returned. Under 750.174(10), "In a prosecution under this section, the failure, neglect, or refusal of the agent, servant, employee, trustee, bailee, or custodian to pay, deliver, or refund to his or her principal the money or property entrusted to his or her care upon demand is prima facie proof of intent to embezzle."

Is embezzlement a felony in Michigan?

Generally yes at $1,000 or more. Section 750.174 has its own value ladder, and at every step the fine is a fixed amount "or 3 times the value of the money or property embezzled, whichever is greater," with imprisonment, a fine, or both:

• Under $200: a misdemeanor, up to 93 days, fine up to $500 or 3 times the value (750.174(2)).
• $200 to under $1,000: a misdemeanor, up to 1 year, fine up to $2,000 or 3 times the value (750.174(3)).
• $1,000 to under $20,000: a felony, up to 5 years, fine up to $10,000 or 3 times the value (750.174(4)).
• $20,000 to under $50,000: a felony, up to 10 years, fine up to $15,000 or 3 times the value (750.174(5)).
• $50,000 to under $100,000: a felony, up to 15 years, fine up to $25,000 or 3 times the value (750.174(6)).
• $100,000 or more: a felony, up to 20 years, fine up to $50,000 or 3 times the value (750.174(7)).

Prior convictions and charity victims

The amount is not the only factor. Under 750.174(3), the 1-year misdemeanor tier also applies to an under-$200 embezzlement when "(b) The person violates subsection (2) and has 1 or more prior convictions for committing or attempting to commit an offense under this section or a local ordinance substantially corresponding to this section" or "(c) The person violates subsection (2) and the victim is a nonprofit corporation or charitable organization under federal law or the laws of this state."

The felony tiers carry similar step-ups. The sentencing guidelines describe the 5-year tier in 750.174(4) as "Embezzlement by agent of $1,000 to $20,000, or with prior convictions, or of $200 to $1,000 from nonprofit corporation or charitable organization" (MCL 777.16i). So embezzling $200 to under $1,000 from a nonprofit or charity can be a felony, and prior convictions can move an amount into a higher tier.

Adding up separate takings

Repeated small embezzlements can be combined. Under 750.174(8), "the values of money or other personal property embezzled in separate incidents pursuant to a scheme or course of conduct within any 12-month period may be aggregated to determine the total value of money or personal property embezzled. If the scheme or course of conduct is directed against only 1 person, governmental entity within this state, or other legal entity, no time limit applies to aggregation under this subsection."

Consecutive sentences for older, vulnerable and charity victims

Under 750.174(12), the court "may order a term of imprisonment imposed for a felony violation of this section to be served consecutively to any term of imprisonment imposed for any other criminal offense if the victim of the violation of this section was any of the following: (a) A nonprofit corporation or charitable organization under federal law or the laws of this state. (b) A person 60 years of age or older. (c) A vulnerable adult as defined in section 174a." Victim age does not change the grade of a 750.174 offense; it affects whether the sentence can run consecutively.

Other Michigan embezzlement offenses

The Penal Code has several narrower embezzlement sections:

• Executors, administrators and guardians (750.176). One who wilfully appropriated estate or ward property and "shall wilfully omit, neglect or refuse for 60 days to obey" a probate court order to deliver it "shall be deemed to have committed the crime of embezzlement, and shall be guilty of a felony, punishable by imprisonment in the state prison for not more than 10 years, or by fine not more than 5,000 dollars."
• Property partly owned by another (750.181). An agent, employee, trustee, bailee, custodian, attorney-at-law, collector or other person who receives money or property that is partly another's, and embezzles or converts it without the part owner's consent, faces the same kind of value ladder: a felony up to 5 years at $1,000 to under $20,000 and up to 10 years at $20,000 or more (750.181(4)-(5)). Prior convictions can move a smaller amount up a tier.
• Mortgaged or leased property (750.177, 750.178). Embezzlement by a chattel mortgagor, vendee or lessee, and of mortgaged or leased property by others, is a felony up to 5 years at $1,000 to under $20,000 and up to 10 years at $20,000 or more, and prior convictions can move a smaller amount up a tier.
• Warehouse operators and forwarders (750.182). A warehouseman, forwarder or other person who issued a receipt for property, or received it on deposit or for sale under a specific contract, and then embezzles or converts it "shall be guilty of a felony." The section sets no range, so the 750.503 default of up to 4 years, a $5,000 fine, or both applies.

Section 750.179 was repealed in 2002.

Embezzlement by public officers

Michigan has a separate felony for public officeholders. Under 750.175:

"Any person holding any public office in this state, or the agent or servant of any such person, who knowingly and unlawfully appropriates to his own use, or to the use of any other person, the money or property received by him in his official capacity or employment, of the value of 50 dollars or upwards, shall be guilty of a felony, punishable by imprisonment in the state prison not more than 10 years or by fine of not more than 5,000 dollars."

The same section provides that a public officer's "failure, neglect or refusal ... to pay over and deliver to his successor all moneys and property which should be in his hands as such officer, shall be prima facie evidence of an offense against the provisions of this section." Section 750.175 also covers an officer's agent or servant, and the general statute, 750.174, applies to employees of a "governmental entity within this state."

A separate misdemeanor covers willful neglect of a legal duty "upon any public officer, or upon any person holding any public trust or employment." Under 750.478, "every willful neglect to perform such duty, where no special provision shall have been made for the punishment of such delinquency, constitutes a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment for not more than 1 year or a fine of not more than $1,000.00."

Retirement benefits, office and future public service

A conviction can carry consequences beyond the sentence:

• Pension forfeiture (38.2702 to 38.2704a). A member or retirant who, on or after September 5, 2017, "is convicted of or enters a nolo contendere plea accepted by a court for a felony arising out of his or her service as a public employee is considered to have breached the public trust and must have his or her rights to an otherwise vested retirement benefit and all accumulated employer contributions, including earnings on the employer contributions, standing to that individual's credit in the retirement system forfeited as provided in this act" (38.2703). The covered felonies are those resulting from the misuse of public funds or from receiving a bribe or other financial benefit as a public employee (38.2702(a)). The act "applies only to the retirement system of which the individual was a member or retirant at the time the felony was committed and only to the retirement system established by the entity affected by the felony" (38.2703).
• What is forfeited. Under 38.2704(1)(a), the forfeited part is "The portion of the member's or retirant's retirement benefit under a retirement system established by that individual's employer at the time the act or acts that resulted in the felony were committed that accrued to the member or retirant on or after the date the first act that resulted in the felony was committed." The member's own accumulated contributions "must be refunded to the member or retirant" (38.2704(1)(b)). A court may freeze a benefit "on a showing of probable cause that the retirement benefit is subject to forfeiture" (38.2704a(1)).
• Vacancy in office (201.3(5)). An office becomes vacant on the incumbent's "conviction of any infamous crime, or of any offense involving a violation of his oath of office."
• 20-year bar (Const 1963, art XI, sec 8). "A person is ineligible for election or appointment to any state or local elective office of this state and ineligible to hold a position in public employment in this state that is policy-making or that has discretionary authority over public assets if, within the immediately preceding 20 years, the person was convicted of a felony involving dishonesty, deceit, fraud, or a breach of the public trust and the conviction was related to the person's official capacity while the person was holding any elective office or position of employment in local, state, or federal government."

Embezzlement from a bank or credit union

Under 750.180, an officer, clerk, agent or employee of a bank, trust company, credit union or safe deposit company "who embezzles, abstracts or wilfully misapplies any of the moneys, funds, credits or property of the bank, trust company, credit union or safe or safety and collateral deposit company, whether owned by it or held in trust," with intent to injure or defraud, "shall be guilty of a felony, punishable by imprisonment in the state prison not more than 20 years." The section also reaches false entries and those who aid the offense. It has no value threshold.

Embezzlement from a vulnerable adult

Michigan has a separate section for vulnerable adults, MCL 750.174a. It does not require a fiduciary or caregiver relationship, and an attempt is part of the offense:

"(1) A person shall not through fraud, deceit, misrepresentation, coercion, or unjust enrichment obtain or use or attempt to obtain or use a vulnerable adult's money or property to directly or indirectly benefit that person knowing or having reason to know the vulnerable adult is a vulnerable adult."

A "vulnerable adult" is defined in 750.145m(u) as "(i) An individual age 18 or over who, because of age, developmental disability, mental illness, or physical disability requires supervision or personal care or lacks the personal and social skills required to live independently," or an adult as defined in two social-services statutes. The definition has no fixed age.

The offense is graded on a value ladder similar to 750.174's: a misdemeanor below $1,000 (up to 93 days under $200, up to 1 year from $200), and a felony from $1,000, with maximums of 5 years at $1,000 to under $20,000, 10 years at $20,000, 15 years at $50,000, and, at $100,000 or more, "imprisonment for not more than 20 years or a fine of not more than $50,000.00 or 3 times the value of the money or property used or obtained or attempted to be used or obtained, whichever is greater, or both" (750.174a(7)). A prior conviction can move the offense up a tier, so $200 to under $1,000 can be a felony with a prior (750.174a(4)(b)). The fine caps for the six tiers are $500, $2,000, $10,000, $15,000, $15,000 and $50,000, in each case or 3 times the value used or obtained (or attempted), whichever is greater (750.174a(2)-(7)). Under 750.174a(11), "A financial institution or a broker or a director, officer, employee, or agent of a financial institution or broker is not in violation of this section while performing duties in the normal course of business of a financial institution or broker or a director, officer, employee, or agent of a financial institution or broker."

Separate incidents under one scheme within 12 months can be aggregated, with no time limit when only one person is targeted (750.174a(8)), and the court "may order a sentence imposed for a violation of subsection (4), (5), (6), or (7) to be served consecutively to any other sentence imposed for a violation of this section" (750.174a(13)). For warning signs and where to report, see our guide to elder fraud.

Pending bills, not law. Senate Bill 113 of 2025 would rewrite 750.174a (embezzlement from vulnerable adults and their estates, penalties and property recovery), and Senate Bill 112 of 2025 would add embezzlement from a vulnerable adult to the racketeering definition in 750.159g. Both passed the Senate 37-0 on April 16, 2025, and were referred to the House Committee on Judiciary; neither has been enacted.

Racketeering

Michigan's criminal enterprises chapter treats a felony violation of the embezzlement sections 750.174, 175, 176, 180, 181 or 182, a felony violation of the forgery and counterfeiting chapter, and a felony financial transaction device violation as "racketeering" when committed for financial gain (750.159g). Conducting an enterprise through a pattern of racketeering activity in violation of 750.159i "is guilty of a felony punishable by imprisonment for not more than 20 years or a fine of not more than $100,000.00, or both" (750.159j(1)), and the court "shall order" criminal forfeiture of property used in or derived from the violation (750.159j(4)).

What is forgery in Michigan?

Forgery is falsely making or altering a listed document with intent to injure or defraud. Under MCL 750.248(1), a person who "falsely makes, alters, forges, or counterfeits a public record, or a certificate, return, or attestation of a clerk of a court, register of deeds, notary public, township clerk, or any other public officer, in relation to a matter in which the certificate, return, or attestation may be received as legal proof," or any of a long list of private instruments, "with intent to injure or defraud another person is guilty of a felony punishable by imprisonment for not more than 14 years."

The private instruments listed in 750.248(1) are "a charter, will, testament, bond, writing obligatory, letter of attorney, policy of insurance, bill of lading, bill of exchange, promissory note, or an order, acquittance of discharge for money or other property, or a waiver, release, claim or demand, or an acceptance of a bill of exchange, or indorsement, or assignment of a bill of exchange or promissory note for the payment of money, or an accountable receipt for money, goods, or other property." Section 750.248(2) states: "This section does not apply to a scrivener's error."

The grade does not depend on the amount; a forged writing under 750.248 carries the same 14-year maximum whatever its value.

Uttering and publishing

Passing a forged writing is a separate felony with the same maximum. Under 750.249(1), "A person who utters and publishes as true a false, forged, altered, or counterfeit record, instrument, or other writing listed in section 248 knowing it to be false, altered, forged, or counterfeit with intent to injure or defraud is guilty of a felony punishable by imprisonment for not more than 14 years." The scrivener's-error exception applies here too (750.249(2)).

Deeds and real-property documents

Forging "a deed, a discharge of mortgage, or a power or letter of attorney or other document that affects an interest in real property with intent to injure or defraud another person" is a felony punishable by up to 14 years (750.248b(1)), and so is uttering and publishing one (750.249b(1)). The court must also declare the forged document invalid and have its order recorded (750.248b).

Charges for forgery or uttering and publishing of an instrument affecting an interest in real property may be filed within 10 years after the offense or within 10 years after the instrument was recorded, whichever is later (MCL 767.24(9)). Most other offenses on this page, including embezzlement, fall under the general 6-year period (767.24(10)); identity theft has its own rule (767.24(7)). Time during which the accused "did not usually and publicly reside within this state" does not count (767.24(11)).

Is signing someone else's name, or your own, on a check forgery?

In People v Susalla, 392 Mich 387 (1974), the Michigan Supreme Court addressed "whether an individual who signs his or her own name to a company check, without authority to do so, is guilty of forgery." The trial court said yes, the Court of Appeals said no, and the Supreme Court agreed with the trial court. It explained that "The offense of forgery is complete when a person falsely makes any writings enumberated in the statute, with intent to deceive, in a manner which exposes another to loss." Susalla was decided under an earlier version of 750.248. If you are dealing with a forged or washed check as the victim, our guide to mail theft and check washing covers reporting and bank steps.

Other forgery and counterfeiting offenses

Chapter XLI of the Penal Code (750.248 to 750.266) also covers:

• Bank bills and promissory notes (750.251). Falsely making, altering, forging or counterfeiting a bank bill or promissory note payable to the bearer or to order, with intent to injure or defraud, is a felony punishable by up to 7 years. Forging state or municipal notes (750.250) also carries up to 7 years.
• Uttering counterfeit notes (750.253). Up to 5 years or a fine up to $2,500.
• Counterfeit financial transaction devices (750.248a, 750.249a). "A person who utters and publishes as true any false, forged, altered, or counterfeit financial transaction device ... with the intent to injure or defraud any person is guilty of a felony" (750.248a), and so is a person who makes or knowingly possesses a mold, die, press or other tool "adapted and designed for making" one, with intent to use it (750.249a). Neither section states a range; under 750.503, a felony "for which no punishment is specially prescribed" is punishable by up to 4 years, a fine up to $5,000, or both.
• Deemed forgeries (750.258, 750.259). Connecting "different parts of several bank notes or other genuine instruments in such a manner as to produce an additional note or instrument, with intent to pass all of them as genuine" is "deemed a forgery, in like manner as if each of them had been falsely made or forged" (750.258), and so is affixing a fictitious corporate-officer signature (750.259).
• Possession and tools. Possessing at the same time 10 or more similar counterfeit notes, knowing them to be counterfeit, with intent to utter them is a felony up to 7 years (750.252). Bringing into the state or possessing a counterfeit bill or note with intent to pass it is a felony up to 5 years or a $2,500 fine (750.254). Making or possessing note-counterfeiting tools with intent to use them is a felony up to 10 years or a $5,000 fine (750.255).
• Counterfeit coins (750.260 to 750.262). Counterfeiting gold or silver coin, or possessing at the same time 5 or more counterfeit coins with intent to pass them, is a felony punishable "by imprisonment in the state prison for life, or for any term of years" (750.260). Possessing fewer than 5 with intent to pass them, or passing one, is a felony up to 10 years or a $5,000 fine (750.261), and so is making or possessing coin-counterfeiting tools with intent to use them (750.262).
• Counterfeit marks (750.263). Willfully counterfeiting an identifying mark with intent to deceive or defraud is a misdemeanor up to 1 year or $1,000. Delivering, or possessing with intent to deliver, goods bearing a counterfeit mark is a felony up to 5 years or a fine up to $50,000 or 3 times the aggregate value, whichever is greater, when the person has a prior conviction, more than 100 items are involved or the aggregate value is more than $1,000; willfully manufacturing such goods is the same felony (750.263(2)-(4)).

Bad checks and identity theft

Bad checks (750.131). Writing a check with intent to defraud, knowing there are insufficient funds, is a misdemeanor below $500, except that a check of $100 to under $500 after 2 or more prior convictions is a felony punishable by up to 2 years or a $2,000 fine, or both (750.131(3)(b)(ii)). "If the amount payable in the check, draft, or order is $500.00 or more," it is "a felony punishable by imprisonment for not more than 2 years or a fine of not more than $2,000.00 or 3 times the amount payable, whichever is greater, or both imprisonment and a fine" (750.131(3)(c)).

Identity theft (445.69). A violation of the Identity Theft Protection Act's core prohibitions is a felony punishable "by imprisonment for not more than 5 years or a fine of not more than $25,000.00, or both," with up to 10 years and $50,000 for a second violation and up to 15 years and $75,000 for a third or later one. See our Michigan identity theft laws page for more.

Michigan embezzlement and forgery offenses at a glance

Michigan's Penal Code does not group felonies into lettered classes for maximum penalties; each offense sets its own statutory maximum. The letters in the table are the sentencing-guideline offense classes in MCL 777.16i and 777.16n, which set advisory ranges for the minimum term. For example, the minimum-sentence grid for Class E (777.66) runs from 0-3 months in its lowest cell to 24-38 months in its highest, and the grid for Class B (777.63) from 0-18 months to 117-160 months. For how Michigan classifies crimes generally, see Michigan felony and misdemeanor penalties.

Civil triple damages

A victim can also sue. Under MCL 600.2919a(1), "A person damaged as a result of either or both of the following may recover 3 times the amount of actual damages sustained, plus costs and reasonable attorney fees: (a) Another person's stealing or embezzling property or converting property to the other person's own use." The remedy "is in addition to any other right or remedy the person may have at law or otherwise" (600.2919a(2)). For fraud schemes and where to report them, see our Michigan scam and fraud laws page.

Recent changes

• 2019. Public Act 173 of 2019, effective March 19, 2020, was the last amendment to 750.174; the current section includes cryptocurrency in "money or other personal property." Public Act 172 of 2019, effective the same day, was the last amendment to the forgery statute, 750.248.
• 2017. Public Act 43 of 2017, effective September 5, 2017, amended the Public Employee Retirement Benefits Forfeiture Act; the current text says a covered member convicted on or after that date "must" forfeit the benefits described above.
• No 2025 or 2026 acts. Through Public Act 103 of 2026, no act of 2025 or 2026 amended the embezzlement or forgery sections on this page. The two embezzlement bills of the 2025-2026 session, SB 112 and SB 113, passed the Senate in April 2025 and are pending in the House Committee on Judiciary.

Federal law

Federal law also reaches embezzlement from banks and federal programs and wire or mail fraud schemes; the embezzlement and forgery laws hub covers those statutes.

Related pages

• Embezzlement and forgery laws by state
• Michigan theft laws
• Michigan felony and misdemeanor penalties
• Michigan scam and fraud laws
• Michigan identity theft laws

This article is general legal information about Michigan criminal statutes, not legal advice. For a specific situation, contact a lawyer licensed in Michigan.

Last updated: 2026-10-17.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is embezzlement a felony in Michigan?

Generally when the value is $1,000 or more. Under MCL 750.174(4)-(7), embezzlement of $1,000 to under $20,000 carries up to 5 years, with higher tiers at $20,000, $50,000 and $100,000. Smaller amounts are misdemeanors, though prior convictions or a nonprofit or charity victim can raise the tier.

What is the penalty for embezzlement over $100,000 in Michigan?

Up to 20 years in prison, a fine up to $50,000 or 3 times the value embezzled, whichever is greater, or both (750.174(7)).

What is the difference between embezzlement and larceny in Michigan?

Embezzlement under 750.174 requires that the money or property came to the person by virtue of being an agent, servant, employee, trustee, bailee or custodian. People v Lueth lists, among the elements, a relationship of trust and that the money came into the defendant's possession because of it. Larceny is a separate offense under 750.356.

Is it embezzlement if you refuse to give the money back in Michigan?

Under 750.174(10), failing, neglecting or refusing to pay, deliver or refund entrusted money or property to the principal upon demand is prima facie proof of intent to embezzle.

What happens to a Michigan public employee convicted of embezzlement?

A public officer who appropriates $50 or more faces up to 10 years under 750.175. For a conviction on or after September 5, 2017, a felony arising out of public service that results from misuse of public funds requires forfeiture of the part of the retirement benefit that accrued from the first criminal act onward, in the system of the employer affected by the felony; the member's own contributions are refunded (38.2702 to 38.2704), and the state constitution bars certain office-holding for 20 years (art XI, sec 8).

Is forgery a felony in Michigan?

Yes. Forging a public record or a listed instrument with intent to injure or defraud is a felony punishable by up to 14 years (750.248), and uttering and publishing one carries the same maximum (750.249). Neither depends on the amount.

Is signing your own name to a company check forgery in Michigan?

In People v Susalla (1974), the Michigan Supreme Court agreed with the trial court that an individual who signs his or her own name to a company check without authority is guilty of forgery.

Can an embezzlement victim sue for triple damages in Michigan?

Yes. Under MCL 600.2919a, a person damaged by another's stealing or embezzling property, or converting it, may recover 3 times the actual damages plus costs and reasonable attorney fees.