A.G Schneiderman announces Guilty Plea of Former Non- Profit Employee for Diverting $400,000 for Personal Use
New York- Attorney General Eric T Schneiderman announced the guilty plea of the former Human Resources Manager of the non-profit Hope Community, Inc. The Hope Community is the owner and operator the low-income housing in Manhattan and is currently under contract with the New York City Department of Homeless Services for $8.9 million over five years to operate a homeless shelter for families.
Chantel Rodriguez Pierre, allegedly used her position to steal an estimated amount of $400,000 from the Hope organization, she confessed that starting on June 2014 to February of 2016 she influenced the payroll system so she was able to issue fake vacation time and additional reimbursements to employees, and instead of sending the money to the employees of the organization, she wired the money to accounts she had access to. Rodriguez Pierre plead guilty to Grand Larceny in the Second Degree, and will be sentence to a minimum of 1 to up to 3 years in state prison, how long will be decided on April 13,2017. In an attempt to receive a plea bargain, Rodriguez Pierre has waived her right to appeal and
agreed to pay amends over time. The defendant Rodriguez Pierre pleaded guilty yesterday in front of Acting Supreme Court Justice Abraham Clott.
“We will not let non-profit employees use their organizations for personal financial gain,” said Attorney General Schneiderman. “We will continue to work with our partners
in government to ensure that taxpayer dollars are put in good use.”
“Enriching oneself by diverting funds from a not-for- profit that provides shelter for the City’s homeless is nothing short of shameful. DOI is pleased that through its partnership with assistance with the New York State Attorney General’s Office this defendant will now pay for her crimes.” Said DOI Commissioner, Mark G. Peters.
The Attorney General thanks the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance for their assistance with the investigation. Investigation was led by Sixto Santiago under the supervision of Deputy Chief john McManus of the Investigations Bureau, which is led by Chief Dominick Zarella and DOI’s Inspector General for City-funded not-for- profit, specifically Special Counsel Inna Spector and Auditor Jeffrey Freeman, under the supervision of Deputy Inspector General/ Chief Forensic Auditory Ivette Morales,
Inspector General Andrew Brunsden, Associate Commissioner Susan Lambiase, Deputy Commissioner/ Chief of Investigations Michael Carroll, and First deputy Commissioner Lesley Brovner.
The prosecutor for this case is Attorney General John Chiara, Speacial Counsel of the Public Integrity Bureau, with support from former Legal Support Analyst Casey Lasda as
well as Legal Support Anlyst Graham Louis. Forensic Auditor Kristina Kojamanian under the supervision of Deputy Chief Sandy Bizzaro provided forensic auditing analysis. The
Public Integrity Bureau is led by Bureau Chief Daniel G. Cort and Deputy Bureau Chief Stacy Aronowitz.
