Embezzlement

The wrongful and fraudulent appropriation of property to his own use by one to whom it has been entrusted by or for the owner. A breach of trust is the essence of the offense. To constitute embezzlement, the person appropriating the property must hold a_ relation of trust towards the owner, by virtue of which he had possession of such property.

31 Cal. 108; 68 Iowa, 593; 110 Mo. 209.

The appropriation must be with fraudulent intent, and by this embezzlement is distinguished from mere tortious conversion.

82 111. 425; 78 Ga. 340; 62 Mich. 276; 50 N. J. Law, 475.

The offense is a purely statutory one, and by many of the statutes is denominated "larceny," but it is commonly known as "embezzlement," and is distinct from larceny at common law, one of the essentials of which was a wrongful taking from the possession of the owner.