Feds: Woman stole $410,000 from NYPD charity to pay for dental expenses, Streisand tickets
The former treasurer of a New York City charity has been arrested for allegedly stealing $410,000 meant for the families of police officers killed in the line of duty, federal prosecutors announced Thursday.
Lorraine Shanley, 68, was arrested on charges of bank fraud and aggravated identity theft, according to a news release from the Department of Justice. Prosecutors say she stole 20 percent of donations to the charity between 2010 and 2017.
“As alleged in the complaint, Lorraine Shanley violated her position of trust at a charity and victimized families who have already sacrificed so much,” said Jonathan D. Larsen, the acting head of the IRS' criminal investigation division. “IRS-CI is committed to following the money and investigating those individuals who steal from charities for their own personal gain.”
During Shanley’s tenure as volunteer treasurer, the charity organization received approximately $1.9 million in donations, nearly all of which came from NYPD employees, according to the release. Shanley allegedly used the charity’s bank account and credit card to spend thousands on herself and her family.
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Prosecutors said she paid $29,000 for her grandchild’s private school tuition and $63,000 to cover her son’s legal expenses.
Her son was charged with second-degree manslaughter and leaving the scene of an accident without reporting, resulting in death in 2014, NBC News reported. He crashed his SUV, killed an activist and fled, according to the outlet, and the manslaughter charges were later dropped.
Shanley allegedly wrote $45,000 in checks to family members and others, endorsed them herself and then deposited them into her own account. She also spent $32,000 on personal dental expenses, $25,000 on landscaping and $8,000 on event tickets, including more than $1,400 for Barbra Streisand concert tickets, prosecutors said.
Shanley faces a minimum of two years in prison for identity theft and a maximum of 30 years in prison for bank fraud.
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Feds: Woman stole $410,000 from NYPD charity to pay for dental expenses, Streisand tickets
