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Anna Maria Restrepo, a 59-year-old Glen Head resident, was sentenced on Thursday, April 27 to three to six years in prison on grand larceny charges, the Nassau County District Attorney announced.
Restrepo (who is also known as Anna Maria Saboski), had been stealing hundreds of thousands from the Seawanhaka Corinthian Yacht Club for nearly her whole employment with the club.
According to the District Attorney, Restrepo was hired as a bookkeeper and later promoted to the boatyard's office manager. As part of this position, she was responsible for recordkeeping and paying the club’s credit card.
However, for the next seven years, she stole more than $600,000 from the club.
The conviction stated that much of the theft was committed using two credit cards assigned to employees and PayPal, where she would transfer fraudulent charges to her own personal PayPal account.
From January 2013 to February 2017, the two employee cards were linked to more than 460 unauthorized fund transfers made to Restrepo’s PayPal account, which she then either transferred to her personal bank account or spent on her PayPal debit card.
Restrepo even went so far as to open an American Express card in a yacht club employee’s name without his consent, and a supplemental account for herself, the DA reported.
Among the 880-plus occasions in which the DA alleged Restrepo used the PayPal debit card or the American Express card, several purchases were made at resorts, casinos, grocery delivery services, Ticketmaster, and even in Costa Rica.
In order to cover up her behavior, Restrepo altered and falsified the club's transactions to make them seem as if they were transactions with legitimate club vendors.
Even though Restrepo was previously convicted of stealing over $100,000 from a children’s daycare center she managed, DA Anne T. Donnelly said that “The defendant’s greed only intensified.”
“...Now, she will spend years in prison as a result of her actions.”
Restrepo pleaded guilty to second-degree grand larceny.
In addition to her sentence, was issued two civil judgment orders: One for $608,886 on behalf of the Seawanhaka Corinthian Yacht Club, and the other for $14,449 on behalf of American Express.
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