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Long Island resident Maria Porras, age 32, pleaded guilty to multiple counts of grand larceny and tax fraud Friday, Sept. 30, in Nassau County court.
Prosecutors said Porras worked as an officer manager at RxUSA in Port Washington, where her duties gave her access to the company’s bookkeeping system.
Over a five-year period between 2015 and 2019, she generated checks written from RxUSA’s account and from the accounts of two other affiliated companies, Eveready Wholesale Drugs and PBM America, prosecutors said.
Porras was arrested by Port Washington police in November 2020 when it was discovered that she had deposited company checks written out to vendors into her personal account instead.
In all, investigators said she embezzled $1,384,487.
Following a subsequent investigation by the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance, it was revealed that Porras failed to report the income she had stolen on her personal tax returns.
She also failed to pay the full taxes owed between 2016 and 2019, prosecutors said.
In court Friday, Porras pleaded guilty to three counts of grand larceny, four counts of tax fraud, and four counts of offering a false instrument for filing, all felonies.
She also agreed to pay $100,000 in upfront restitution and will be ordered to pay the remainder after her sentencing.
Prosecutors asked the judge to sentence Porras to between 2 ½ to 6 ½ years behind bars, or 3 ½ to 10 ½ years if she does not pay "significant" upfront restitution.
“Maria Porras’ greed caught up with her and she is being held accountable with this felony conviction,” Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly said.
“I thank my Financial Crimes Bureau for their diligent investigation of this case and for ultimately uncovering this massive embezzlement scheme.”
Porras is scheduled to be sentenced on Monday, Jan. 9, 2023.
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