Westchester County District Attorney (DA) Miriam E. Rocah announced on Jan. 29 that a Bronx woman was sentenced Thursday, Jan. 25, to an indeterminate term of two to six years in state prison for stealing more than $700,000 from Hudson Valley Community Services (HVCS), a division of Cornerstone Family Healthcare, a nonprofit healthcare provider in Hawthorne, NY where the woman was employed as the director of finance.

 

Announcing the sentencing, Rocah said, “This defendant betrayed the trust of a non-profit that put her in charge of its finances and stole hundreds of thousands of dollars for her personal use. This prosecution and sentence demonstrate our commitment to holding this defendant accountable for years of deceit and jeopardizing an organization providing critical services to our community.”

 

According the Westchester DA’s office, the defendant, Ingrid Aquino, 33, pleaded guilty on March 23, 2023, to grand larceny in the second degree, a felony. In addition to her sentence, the court ordered her to pay restitution in the amount of $704,034.62.

 

The court heard that between Nov. 1, 2017, and Sept. 1, 2021, Aquino wrote approximately 170 checks totaling $704,034 from HVCS bank accounts for personal expenses, including rent.

 

The Westchester District Attorney’s Office arrested Aquino on May 2, 2022, following an investigation.

 

The case was heard before Judge James McCarty in Westchester County Court and was prosecuted by the Public Integrity and Law Enforcement Integrity Bureau of the Trials and Investigations Division.