Mineola, NY - July 11th, 2013 - Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice announced today that a Huntington woman has been arraigned on a grand jury indictment charging her with grand larceny for stealing more than $866,000 over a six-year period from the Locust Valley architecture firm where she worked as a bookkeeper.
Lori Maceluch, 48, was arraigned yesterday on a grand jury indictment charging her with Grand Larceny in the Second Degree and 378 counts of Criminal Possession of a Forged Instrument in the Second Degree. She faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted and is due back in court August 15.
Rice said that between May 2005 and September 2011, Maceluch used her position as bookkeeper for a Locust Valley-based architecture firm to steal $866,114 by forging a firm partner’s signature on 568 checks she wrote to herself. As bookkeeper for the firm for approximately 15 years, Maceluch had unrestricted and unsupervised access to the firm’s operating account.
Maceluch disguised the theft by fraudulently enhancing legitimate expenses in the company’s financial records. She used the stolen cash to fund a lifestyle that included dining at expensive restaurants and taking luxury vacations to the Berkshires, Nantucket Island, Fire Island, Florida, and the Dominican Republic. Maceluch spent tens of thousands of dollars on credit card payments and at various retail stores including Lord & Taylor and Bon Bon’s Chocolatier.
The theft was discovered in late 2011 when an internal audit of the company uncovered discrepancies in the accounts payable and accounts receivable records that could not be explained. Maceluch was terminated shortly thereafter and the case was subsequently referred to the DA’s Office.
“The amount of money this defendant stole is incredible, but the betrayal of her employer’s trust is truly shocking,” Rice said. “Her lavish lifestyle, however, could not protect her from the consequences of her deception.”
Assistant District Attorney William Jorgenson of the DA’s Government & Consumer Frauds Bureau is prosecuting the case. Maceluch is represented by Michael Alber, Esq.
The charges are merely accusations and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.