Both aggravating and mitigating factors may be available in embezzlement cases when the offense is charged as a felony. For example, a judge is likely to give a defendant a tougher sentence if his victim was an elderly or a dependent person (that is, someone with a mental or physical impairment that affects his daily functioning). A factor leading to a more severe sentence is an aggravating factor. A mitigating factor, or one which may lead a judge to grant a less severe sentence, is when the defendant returned the property subject to the embezzlement. But note that this return must have come before the party gets formally charged.