An Education Department employee and a program director at a driving school were indicted Monday for taking the state for a ride by stealing over $2.5 million in a kick-back scheme.
Keisha Relf Davis, 36, who worked as a vocational counselor in a DOE program that offered programs like drivers' education to New Yorkers with disabilities, is accused of perpetrating the fraud with Steven Washington, 68, who worked in Manhattan and Bronx schools.
Washington would allegedly charge students $300 to $500 for a few hours of road training and send their information to Davis. She would then cook the books to show they were trained through the program — receiving some 90 hours of classroom and theoretical training plus lengthy road lessons — prompting the state to reimburse the schools nearly $5,000 for each of the 540 or so students she submitted paperwork for, officials said.
Davis is accused of keeping the cash payments while Washington pocketed 12% of the reimbursements with the rest going to the schools.
“Taking advantage of a government job to steal millions of dollars from New York taxpayers is a shameful violation of the public's trust,” said Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, whose office brought the charges.
The allegedly underhanded duo has been hit with grand larceny and other counts. They can get up to 8 1/3 to 25 years in prison if convicted.
Keisha Relf Davis, 36, who worked as a vocational counselor in a DOE program that offered programs like drivers' education to New Yorkers with disabilities, is accused of perpetrating the fraud with Steven Washington, 68, who worked in Manhattan and Bronx schools.
Washington would allegedly charge students $300 to $500 for a few hours of road training and send their information to Davis. She would then cook the books to show they were trained through the program — receiving some 90 hours of classroom and theoretical training plus lengthy road lessons — prompting the state to reimburse the schools nearly $5,000 for each of the 540 or so students she submitted paperwork for, officials said.
Davis is accused of keeping the cash payments while Washington pocketed 12% of the reimbursements with the rest going to the schools.
“Taking advantage of a government job to steal millions of dollars from New York taxpayers is a shameful violation of the public's trust,” said Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, whose office brought the charges.
The allegedly underhanded duo has been hit with grand larceny and other counts. They can get up to 8 1/3 to 25 years in prison if convicted.
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