FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, December 5, 2018
Flatbush Woman Indicted for Allegedly Embezzling Over $125,000 from Small Technology Company That Assists Charter Schools
Allegedly Used Money for Car Payments, Luxury Items and Travel Expenses
Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez today announced that a 40-year-old Flatbush woman has been indicted on various charges of grand larceny and falsifying business records for allegedly wiring money from her employer’s business accounts to her personal account, as well as making cash withdrawals totaling more than $125,000.
District Attorney Gonzalez said “This defendant allegedly betrayed her employer’s trust by wiring money to herself and spending it on luxury goods and travel. Her alleged actions caused a significant loss to her employer and jeopardized a small business on which many charter schools rely.”
The District Attorney identified the defendant as Tasmyn Craig, 40, of Flatbush, Brooklyn. She was arraigned today before Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Danny Chun on an indictment in which she is charged with one count of second-degree grand larceny, 22 counts of third-degree larceny, seven counts of fourth-degree larceny, and 30 counts of falsifying business records. She was released without bail and ordered to return to court on February 6, 2019. The defendant faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted of the top count.
The District Attorney said that, according to the investigation, between June 21, 2016, and December 30, 2016, the defendant allegedly made 29 wire transfers to her personal Chase account for more than $115,000 from a Wells Fargo account belonging to her employer, Charter Technology Solutions. CTS was founded in 2010 to assist charter schools with their technological needs. Craig was hired as CTS’ operations and finance manager on October 5, 2015. In that role, Craig had access to the Wells Fargo and Citibank accounts used to pay operational expenses.
The alleged embezzlement was discovered by CTS founder Sachin Gujral in January 2017, when he noticed what appeared to be double entries of payments to vendors, according to the investigation. The defendant allegedly categorized the transactions as business expenditures to vendors doing business with CTS. Gujral reported the embezzlement to the police.
It is also alleged that from April 22, 2016 to January 3, 2017, the defendant stole another $9,500 from CTS’s Citibank business account through automated teller machine withdrawals.
In total, the defendant allegedly embezzled more than $125,000 from CTS. The money was allegedly used to purchase products from Gucci, Tiffany, Akira, and Uggs; to make monthly car payments for a BMW; and for JetBlue airline tickets and Miami hotels, according to the investigation.
The defendant was fired on January 10, 2017.
The case was investigated by New York City Police Department Detective Joseph DeSantis and Sergeant Johnny Wong of the 72nd Precinct in Sunset Park, Brooklyn.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Karen P. Turner of the District Attorney’s Frauds Bureau, with assistance from Financial Investigator Marina Kuchmar of the District Attorney’s Investigations Division, under the supervision of Assistant District Attorney Patricia McNeill, Deputy Chief of the Investigations Division.
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An indictment is an accusatory instrument and not proof of a defendant’s guilt.