Glen Head Woman Embezzeler

A bookkeeper from Glen Head was arrested for allegedly embezzling more than $200,000 from her employer, a Glen Cove-based property management company, and two other clients.

Laura Fontana, 62, of Glen Head was arraigned Friday, April 12th, before Judge Gary Carlton and charged with: Grand larceny (a felony), five counts of Criminal Possession of a Forged Instrument in the Second Degree (also a felony), and ten counts of Falsifying Business Records in the First Degree (an E felony).

Fontana is due back in court on Thursday, April 18th. If convicted of the top count, she faces a maximum of five to 15 years in prison.

“The defendant is accused of systematically stealing more than $200,000 in small sums over a period of six years from her employer and clients,” the nassau County District Attorney (DA) said. The DA also said that from between 2012 to 2018, Fontana allegedly wrote checks to herself from nine properties the company managed. Fontana allegedly endorsed most of the checks and deposited them into her Bank of America account. To conceal the thefts, she allegedly recorded them in the company’s QuickBooks account as having been made out to a legitimate vendor.

The individual check amounts ranged from $200 to $1,996. Fontana allegedly embezzled more than $190,000 from the company and an additional sum from two other clients. In total, Fontana allegedly stole more than $209,000 from her clients and employer. She is alleged to have spent the money on bills, living and childcare expenses.

The investigation began in July 2018 when a complaint was filed with the NCDA’s Criminal Complaint Unit.

Senior District Attorney Betty Rodriguez of DA Singas’ Financial Crimes Bureau is prosecuting this case. John Maccarone, Esq. represents the defendant.