Fired for a crime I didn't commit, for which they haven't a shred of proof.

I'm a server in an upscale restaurant who was recently fired for closing a check out in the wrong amount. My employer alleges this was intentional and fraudulent, even though it would've only been a net gain of about 7 dollars. Additionally, the customer's check that was purportedly altered was a close friend of my boss who would certainly mention a falsified charge slip to her.

With these 2 reasons (little to gain, and near-certainty of being caught), plus the fact that this happened on a busy holiday night, not to mention KNOWING that I didn't purposefully try and take this money, I suggested to them that I had simply made a mistake. Didn't help...

So my question then, is do they have to have proof that this was fraud or forgery, or can they just assume that any and every paperwork mistake is an attmept to defraud?

Some info that may help: a)Once a check is closed, it can still be reopened, and potentially altered; b)This boss is new and our chef warned us when she first started that she had a "hit-list" of employees to get rid of so she could bring in friends from her previous job; c)She showed the paperwork to several of the other servers the night before she confronted me about it; and d)She initially suspended me for 3 days "pending an investigation", but hasn't called me back since to inform me of anything, including being fired, yet mentioned to all the other employees at a wine tasting yesterday that I HAD been fired. So what sort of options do I have? Thanks in advance...P