New York’s Bronx. Prosecutors announced Wednesday that a Bronx public school employee, her husband, and a friend have been charged with corruption and fraud for allegedly embezzling over $173,000 in cash intended for a middle school in the Longwood neighborhood.
40-year-old Rusnelly Clase, a Community Associate at Middle School 302, is charged with planning a four-year plot to embezzle school funds by sending fraudulent bills for items and services that were never delivered. According to Bronx District Attorney Darcel D. Clark and Special Commissioner of Investigation for the New York City School District Anastasia Coleman, the accused vendors were her husband, 37-year-old Justin Echevarria, and her friend, 36-year-old Lisa Michelle Geraldino.
In a four-year fraud operation, the defendant allegedly embezzled much-needed monies from Middle School 302 in Longwood while she was employed there, benefitting herself, her spouse, and a friend, according to a statement from District Attorney Clark. This kind of deprivation of children is unacceptable.
Clase and her associates allegedly filed false bills totaling $173,000 for products and services that were never provided to the school, according to the indictment. Prosecutors claim that over a number of years, the defendants embezzled the money that was intended for pupils.
The three defendants were arraigned before Justice Brenda Rivera in the Bronx Supreme Court and are facing a 296-count indictment. They are scheduled to return to court on January 28, 2025, after being freed under supervision.
“There can be no tolerance for this type of fraud within the New York City school system,” said Special Commissioner Coleman, in reference to the case, which prosecutors say illustrates the exploitation of scarce public resources intended to assist students.
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