CRIME WATCH

Ex-treasurer pleads guilty to stealing from church

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A Queens man recently pleaded guilty to stealing more than $35,000 from an East Meadow church while serving as its assistant treasurer, Nassau County District Attorney Madeline Singas said.

Singas announced that Ronald Ousman, the 38-year-old former acting treasurer of Holy Trinity Orthodox Church, pleaded guilty to petit larceny before Nassau County District Court Judge Eric Bjorneby on Jan. 20. The Bayside resident stole funds from the Green Avenue house of worship between 2014 and 2015, Singas said, and will make full restitution.

Scott Limmer, Ousman’s attorney, is currently holding $20,000 in restitution money in escrow; any amount still due following Ousman’s sentencing will be paid through the Department of Probation. Additionally, the he is expected to receive three years of probation and 210 hours of community service.

“The defendant was given access to the church’s finances because he was a trusted member of the community, but he abused that trust and stole more than $35,000 from the congregation through a series of cash withdrawals that lasted almost a year,” Singas said. “Thankfully, church officials noticed the discrepancies and contacted our office and we were able to get the money back for this faith community.”

Singas explained that, between May 16, 2014 and May 7, 2015, Ousman embezzled $35,608. He made a series of cash withdrawals from the church’s checking and money market accounts, she added.

The investigation began when church officials contacted the Internal Revenue Service to verify certain tax information. IRS employees informed church leaders that the agency never received certain payments. An investigation was opened by the district attorney’s office in May.

Assistant District Attorney Peter Mancuso, of Singas’s Government and Consumer Frauds Bureau, is prosecuting the case. Ousman is due back in court on March 30 for sentencing, officials said.