Class-ic case of embezzle
CFO guilty in $8M school theft
A bigwig at a prestigious Long Island school was convicted Tuesday of pocketing more than $8 million from its coffers and using the dough to splurge on five beach houses on Fire Island, limo rides and a classic muscle car.
David Ostrove, 52, the former chief financial officer and technical officer at the Schechter School of Long Island in Williston Park, raided the private K-12 academy’s bank account for nearly 10 years, and is now looking at up to 25 years in prison, Suffolk County prosecutors said.
“While David Ostrove was entrusted to manage this money to benefit the children of the Schechter School, he was secretly lining his own pockets,” Suffolk District Attorney Raymond Tierney said in a statement.
Lavish lifestyle
“The jury here concluded that the defendant’s lavish lifestyle was funded using the tuition dollars of the hardworking parents of the Schechter School students, and thankfully, the jury held him accountable.”
Prosecutors said Ostrove started skimming funds in 2014, amassing a fortune over the years to fund a lifestyle that included five ritzy beach houses in Ocean Beach on Fire Island.
Ostrove used five different shell operations to hide the stolen money, which he also spent on a Lincoln Aviator, a Mercedes-Benz and a prized 1965 Ford Mustang, along with a collection of rare sports and political memorabilia, the DA’s Office said.
The money even paid for $1.4 million in upgrades to the beach houses, which Ostrove then used to collect more than $600,000 in rent by leasing them out. He also spent more than $1 million on jewelry, clothes and limousine services, prosecutors said.
Ostrove, of West Islip, used some of the stolen tuition money to pay for his own daughter’s college, too.
According to a $35 million lawsuit filed against him by the school in January, Ostrove pulled off the scheme by setting up a PayPal account in the school’s name and depositing the swiped money in it.
In 2018, he set up a gift-card program to raise money for school events, but skimmed $1.58 million for himself by using an outside company, the suit said.
On Tuesday, a Suffolk County jury found him guilty of first-degree grand larceny and moneylaundering, and he faces up to 25 years in prison when sentenced April 17.
Officials at the school could not be reached for comment.