NEW YORK (1010 WINS) -- The chief financial officer of a Long Island private school was indicted for stealing over $8 million from the school and using it to buy cars and homes, the Suffolk County District Attorney's Office said Monday.
David Ostrove, 51, was charged with first-degree grand larceny and first-degree money laundering after he allegedly stole money from Schechter School of Long Island, according to Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney.
listen to 1010 wins
According to officials, from March 2014 to April 2022, David Ostrove, 51, used the school's PayPal and Stripe accounts to transfer money into his personal PayPal account, and then transferred other funds to accounts in order to cover up the theft.
Ostrove used shell companies to buy five houses on Fire Island with the money from 2018 to 2021 and used the stolen money to renovate them as rental properties, making over $600,000 in rental income, investigators said.
Officials also claim that Ostrove used the money to purchase four cars, jewelry, limo rides, travel expenses, sports memorabilia and collectible coins which he would then auction off for profit.
He also used the funds for home equity payments for his West Islip residence and to pay his daughter's college tuition.
"As alleged in the indictment, this defendant was trusted to oversee and safeguard the funds of this institution; however, he violated that trust and instead stole money earmarked to educate children to fund his own lavish lifestyle," said Tierney. "These alleged violations are clearly not only a breach of the trust between an employee, employer, and students — they are against the law."
Ostrove was held on bail of $500,000 cash or $2 million bond and faces up to 25 years in prison if convicted.
Related
Related
