A former director of finance at New York University has been charged with stealing millions of dollars in state funds. File photo by John Angelillo/UPI |
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Dec. 20 (UPI) -- A former director of finance at New York University has been indicted on allegations she embezzled millions in state funds intended for minority- and women-owned businesses to improve local education.
The indictment announced Monday by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and state comptroller Thomas DiNapoli charges Cindy Tappe, 57, of using her position to run a six-year scheme to steal some $3.5 million in grant funds that were awarded to the university by the New York State Education Department.
Prosecutors said that from February 2012 until her scheme was uncovered in late 2018 Tappe had NYU pay the grant money to three companies for related services and for which she produced falsified invoices.
The three companies then took between 3-6% of the grant money and sent the remainder to High Galaxy Inc. and PCM Group Inc., which prosecutors say are shell companies that Tappe created.
Tappe is accused of stealing at least $660,000 that were diverted to the two shell companies to pay personal expenses, including to renovate her Connecticut home and to build an $80,000 swimming pool.
The funds Tappe is accused of stealing come from the Regional Bilingual Education Resource Network and the Technical Assistance Center on Disproportionality programs, which help school districts improve results of English-language learners and address disproportionality in special education.
As requirements for these grants, a percentage is to go to minority- and women-owned businesses.
"The funds meant for student programs were used purely for personal gain by an NYU director of finance," Bragg said in a statement. "This $3.5 million fraud also negatively impacted our city's minority- and women-owned business enterprises by denying them the chance to fairly compete for and secure the funding."
According to prosecutors, NYU confronted Tappe about the payments made to her alleged shell companies in September 2018 before reporting the theft to the New York Department of Education, which then informed the state comptroller's office, sparking an investigation into the diverted funds.
