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Wafa Abboud, 56, of Merrick, who once ran Human First, which is based out of Nassau County, was found guilty of embezzling funds, bank fraud and money laundering following a two-week trial in Brooklyn federal court.
From January 2011 until she was let go from Health First - which provides services to developmentally disabled people - was the charity’s executive director and was in charge of distributing the organization’s funds.
Between May 2011 and February 2016, Abboud issued approximately $16,000 a month in consulting fees to MPB Management Services, which was controlled by Marcelle Bailey. Each month, Abboud wrote two $8,000 checks and deposited one into bank accounts in MPB’s name that she controlled.
U.S. Attorney Richard Donoghue said that in total, Abboud diverted approximately $420,000 of Human First funds into accounts that were used to pay for her personal expenses.
Donoghue said that the expenses included a trip to Disneyland in California, tickets to the Broadway show “Newsies,” visits to luxury spas and high-end beauty salons, cosmetic surgeries and international wire transfers. Abboud also withdrew nearly $120,000 in cash from the accounts.
Abboud also embezzled more than $440,000 from Human First with her co-conspirator Rami Taha, another consultant who Abboud hired to work at Human First. Abboud issued Human First checks to companies controlled by Taha, who then diverted the embezzled funds back to Abboud. She then used the money to fund the down payment for her residence and to pay for extensive renovations to the home.
When asked about the source of the money by her mortgage lender, Abboud stated that the funds were part of a settlement payment she had received for damage to a prior residence.
Donoghue noted that Abboud also awarded herself an annual salary increase to $479,000 without obtaining the required approval from Human First’s Board of Directors.
“With today’s verdict, Abboud has been held accountable for abusing her position of trust as the Executive Director of a charity and funding her elaborate lifestyle with money intended to serve the needs of vulnerable individuals in the community,” Donoghue added.
Bailey pleaded guilty in December 2017 to embezzling funds and bank fraud, and Taha pleaded guilty in May to embezzling funds. A fourth co-conspirator, Arkadiusz Swiechowicz, pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice in September last year. They are all awaiting sentencing.
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