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Former Nassau University Medical Center payroll director Arlena Mann, age 46, was arraigned on Thursday, March 24, on charges of second-degree grand larceny and six representative counts of first-degree falsifying business records, according to Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly.
She pleaded not guilty and was released on her own recognizance, Donnelly said.
“This defendant allegedly used her access to key bookkeeping and payroll software to bilk the cash-strapped public hospital out of more than $120,000,” Donnelly said. “These are funds NUMC sorely needs to provide adequate services and patient care to Nassau County residents. Employees of public institutions like NUMC have a duty to perform their jobs with integrity because residents depend on it.”
The indictment reported that between March 2019 and July 2021, Mann used the hospital's payroll software to arrange to have payments for former employees who had recently left the organization sent to accounts she controlled, the DA's Office said.
"Once payments were processed, Mann allegedly voided them within NUMC’s bookkeeping software to create the appearance that the payments were never processed and that no money was transferred," the District Attorney's Office said. "During this time period, Mann allegedly made more than fifty such transfers, involving more than fifty former employees, with a total value exceeding $121,000."
Investigators found that the stolen funds were not due to former employees, and were exclusively the hospital's funds, according to the announcement.
Mann was fired after an internal investigation at the hospital in July, and the case was referred to the DA's Office, Donnelly said.
Mann is set to appear in court again on Monday, April 25, the DA's Office said.
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