embezzlement is a word from the Latin term stellionatu, which means a criminal practice, which occurs when someone sells, mortgages or gives something to more than one person, deceiving both. One swindler gains advantages for himself through the use of a fraud.
Embezzlement is exposed in the Brazilian Penal Code (Title II, Chapter VI, Article 171) as an economic crime, which is described as the act of "obtain, for yourself or for another, illicit advantage, to the detriment of others, inducing or keeping someone in error, by means of artifice, ruse or any other fraudulent means." The penalty for the practice of embezzlement can go from 1 to 5 years, and a fine.
In order for the fraud to be verified, four premises must be fulfilled: the practitioner must obtain a advantage (1) and harm another person (2), using a scheme (3) that instigates someone to err (4).
The following acts constitute the practice of embezzlement: performing the sale of the same object to more than one person, writing bad checks, or selling a counterfeit or defective product, hiding it from the person making the purchase.
Regarding the etymology of this word, some authors claim that it derives from the term stellio, a lizard that changes color to camouflage itself and deceive the insects that are part of its food chain.
In December 2012, the CCJ (Committee on Constitution and Justice and Citizenship) approved a proposal aimed at reducing penalties for non-violent crimes, such as embezzlement and theft. According to this proposal, if the perpetrator of embezzlement is a first offender and the damage in question is small, the penalty imprisonment could be replaced by detention, it could also be reduced or only the penalty of traffic ticket. This proposal was passed to Bill No. 4894/2012, however this proposal did not come into force, as it has not yet been approved.
social security embezzlement
Social security embezzlement is one that is practiced against a Social Security entity (social assistance, charity, public law entity or institute of popular economy). In these cases, the Brazilian Penal Code states that the penalty can be increased by one third.