By Jeff Lipton
The suspect, identified by authorities as Louis Frimet of South End, a former Queens high school teacher, was charged by the Queens district attorney with 110 felonies and one misdemeanor, according to the special commissioner of investigation for the New York City School District.
Frimet, authorities said, worked as the coordinator of the John Adams High School LEARN Program, which provided high school students with job opportunities at local hospitals and medical offices. An investigation revealed that from September 2001 to July 2002, Frimet doctored time records and pocketed paychecks made out to students, officials said. He cashed the paychecks against his bank accounts, including the account for his business, How Did I Do Inc., and kept the money for himself, officials added.
The cover on the alleged scheme was blown when a student learned that checks were being issued in his name even though he wasnÕt working, said Aquila Haynes, a spokeswoman for the special commissioner of investigation. The student never received the checks and notified a school official, who contacted investigators for Special Commissioner Richard Condon.
ÒFrimet systematically stole thousands of dollars from the Department of Education and, more importantly, the students preparing for a career in the real world. The defendantÕs disregard for the students and the school system is reflected in the fact that he cashed their checks against an account entitled How Did I Do Inc.,Ó Condon said.
Queens District Attorney Richard Brown added, ÒThe defendant is alleged to have plundered a school program for his own benefit by submitting false timekeeping records, cashing checks issued to his students and pocketing the proceeds. He betrayed the children and the Department of Education by abusing the trust that was placed in him.Ó
Haynes said that many of the students in the LEARN Program had stopped working in November 2002, but in February 2003 the checks were still being processed with their names on them.
Haynes said the suspect is accused of stealing a total of more than $15,000 from 23 students in the program. ÒItÕs a high school work program, where the students would spend three to four hours at a hospital to get experience for a career in health care,Ó Haynes said. ÒItÕs a co-op program where they work and go to school.Ó
Frimet, who worked for the Department of Education for 35 years, retired shortly after the investigation began and is currently ineligible for employment with the department. He was arrested on Tuesday morning, March 11, by senior investigator John Fernbacker of the special commissionerÕs office.
The charges against Frimet include third-degree grand larceny, second-degree criminal possession of a forged instrument, first- and second-degree scheming to defraud, first-degree falsifying of business records and first-degree offering a false instrument for filing. Frimet faces up to seven years in prison if convicted, officials said.
He was arraigned before Judge Michael Aloise in Queens Criminal Court on Wednesday, March 12. Bail was set at $3,000 and Frimet was still in custody, officials said. The next court date is set for Tuesday, March 27.
Steve Sternberg of the Queens Law Associates, who represented Frimet during his arraignment, did not return phone calls. Frimet could not be reached for comment.
