A Glen Head woman was sentenced to up to six years in prison for stealing more than $600,000 from an Oyster Bay yacht club over seven years, according to the Nassau County District Attorney’s Office.
Anna Maria Restrepo, 59, pleaded guilty to second-degree grand larceny, a felony, Jan. 13. She was sentenced April 27 to three to six years in prison and given a civil judgment order for $608,886 on behalf of the Seawanhaka Corinthian Yacht Club and a civil judgment order in the amount of $14,449 on behalf of American Express.
Restrepo was hired as the yacht club’s boat yard bookkeeper in May 2009 and later promoted to boat yard office manager. She was responsible for the yacht club’s record keeping, paying the club’s credit card and ordering office supplies.
Restrepo stole more than $600,000 from the yacht club between 2010 and 2017, mostly using the credit card numbers of two of the club’s employees, the DA said.
She made fraudulent credit card charges through PayPal and then directed the money to her personal PayPal account, making more than 460 unauthorized fund transfers from January 2013 through February 2017, according to the district attorney’s office.
Restrepo falsified the yacht club’s business records and altered transactions to appear as though they were made to legitimate vendors, allowing the scheme to go undetected for years.
The funds were disbursed using a PayPal Debit Card more than 880 times. Withdrawals and transactions took place in Costa Rica, The Seneca Casino Hotel in Niagara Falls, and the Turning Stone Resort in Verona, N.Y.
She also made unauthorized charges at various restaurants and retail stores, and additional transfers were made from her PayPal account directly into her bank account, according to the Nassau DA.
She opened an American Express card in the name of one yacht club employee without his permission or consent in July 2016, as well as an account in her own name.
“Entrusted with the club’s credit cards, this defendant exploited that unique access to siphon $600,000 of club funds into her own bank accounts and used the money for personal expenses and made withdrawals at several casinos and resorts,” said Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly.
“The defendant was previously convicted for a similar fraud scheme just months after she began working for the yacht club. Instead of starting fresh the defendant’s greed only intensified, and now she will spend years in prison as a result of her actions,” the DA said.
Restrepo was previously convicted of first-degree falsifying business records, a felony, in May 2009. She had stolen more than $100,000 as a fiscal manager for the Glen Cove Child Day Care and was sentenced to a conditional discharge.
Restrepo was arrested for her most recent offense on March 9, 2017.
