A former office manager for a Port Washington-based pharmaceutical company pled guilty to stealing over $1.38 million from three affiliated businesses over a five-year period, Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly said.
Maria Porras, 32, entered a guilty plea to three counts of second-degree grand larceny, four counts of third-degree criminal tax fraud and four counts of offering a false instrument for filing, the DA said.
From 2015 to 2019, Porras worked as an office manager for the Port Washington-based pharmaceutical company RXUSA. Her responsibilities included access to RXUSA’s bookkeeping system. She generated checks from RXUSA’s account and two other related businesses, Eveready Wholesale Drugs, Inc., and PBM America Inc.
On Nov. 11, 2020, police arrested Porras. They discovered she had deposited checks from RXUSA and rerouted incoming funds into her own account, the DA said. After further investigation, they learned she had stolen $1,384,487.71 between 2015 and 2020, according to Donnelly.
Porras, according to the DA, abused her authority and access. She also submitted fake tax filings, concealing the proceeds of her theft.
“Maria Porras’ greed caught up with her and she is being held accountable with this felony conviction,” she said. “I thank my Financial Crimes Bureau for their diligent investigation of this case and for ultimately uncovering this massive embezzlement scheme.”
The state Department of Taxation and Finance also launched an inquiry. They found Porras had filed her personal tax returns without disclosing the stolen revenue and had underpaid her taxes from 2016 to 2019.
Before her sentencing on Jan. 9, 2023, Porras agreed to pay $100,000 in upfront reparation. She will have to pay the remaining amount after her sentence.
Donnelly suggested a prison sentence of 2.5 to 6.5 years with a large upfront restitution. Without it, she suggested 3.5 to 10.5 years.
