To legally prove embezzlement, the claimant must prove that the perpetrator had a fiduciary responsibility to the victim and that the embezzled asset was acquired through that relationship and conveyed to the accused intentionally. The key to spotting embezzlement is that it involves a betrayal of trust or duty. While this looks different in every state, generally, these four factors must be present: There must be a fiduciary relationship between the two parties. That is, there must be a reliance by one party on the other. The defendant must have acquired the property through that relationship,  The defendant's actions must have been intentional, and not the result of an error; The defendant must have taken ownership of the property (at least temporarily), transferred the property to someone else, or destroyed or hidden the property.