- David Ostrob, 52, was found guilty Tuesday of perpetrating a “appalling” multi-year fraud at Schecter School on Long Island.
- During his 10 years as CFO of a financial institution with an annual salary of $26,000, he defrauded him out of $8 million in lavish gifts and property.
- He faces 25 years in prison for his scheme to rent five Fire Island homes and buy a classic 1965 Ford Mustang.
The financial director of a prestigious private school on Long Island has been found guilty of stealing more than $8 million to purchase a portfolio of homes, classic cars, jewelry and more.
Fraudster David Ostrob, 52, spent 10 years as CFO at the $26,000-a-year Schecter School on Long Island, during which time he siphoned millions of dollars from the school's coffers through shell companies.
Ostrob faces up to 25 years in prison for the scheme, which saw him buy five luxury properties in Ocean Beach, New York's Fire Island, a 1965 Ford Mustang and a collection of sports memorabilia. There is.
Suffolk District Attorney Raymond Tierney said in a statement: “While David Ostrob was entrusted with managing these funds to benefit the children of the Schechter School, he secretly enriched his own pockets.'' ” he said.
Prosecutors said the suspect started the fraud scheme in 2014 and used five different Shell operations to siphon millions of dollars.
According to the $35 million lawsuit the school filed against Ostrobe in January, he planned to hide the funds by opening a PayPal account in the school's name and depositing the stolen money there. That's what it means.
And in 2018, he also launched a gift card scheme to raise money for Schecter Schools, but used one of his shell companies to steal $1.58 million from the program.
The $8 million he was defrauded included fraudulent expense reports, from which he recovered about $800,000, according to the complaint.
While the school's case is ongoing, he was found guilty on Tuesday of first-degree grand larceny and money laundering and faces decades in prison when he is sentenced April 17.
“Thankfully, the jury held the defendant responsible, concluding that the defendant's lavish lifestyle was funded by the tuition fees of the hard-working parents of students at the Schecter School,” Tierney said Tuesday. .
Much of the ill-gotten gains went to Ostroff's portfolio of five properties on Fire Island, including two worth $1.3 million and two worth $1.8 million, all within minutes of each other.
The financial director allegedly used $1.4 million of the stolen funds to upgrade his home, but made more than $600,000 by renting out his Fire Island property.
Mr. Ostrov's splurge also focused on rare collections of sports and political memorabilia and cars, including a classic 1965 Ford Mustang.
His car collection also included a Lincoln Aviator SUV and a Mercedes-Benz.
Ostrob is said to have used some of the stolen money to pay for his daughter's college tuition.
Before his conviction, the Schechter School told DailyMail.com that the massive fraud was “appalling” and that a conviction would signal “something more than the theft of cash: the destruction of trust.” He said he would be found guilty of the crime.
The school added, “Although dollars were allegedly embezzled, what cannot be stolen is the future of the Schechter School.”
“We will emerge from this experience stronger and wiser, with a warning to all institutions that today's online financial technology can become the heist's weapon of choice.”
