Dorothy Ogundu Was Convicted In October Last Year Of Using Her Non-Profit To Steal Nearly $300K In City, State And Federal Grant Funds
(Long Island, NY) Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman, Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli and New York City Department of Investigation (NYC DOI) Commissioner Mark Peters today announced that Dorothy Ogundu, a nonprofit executive convicted for pocketing taxpayer dollars intended for public services and capital improvements in New York City was sentenced to 1-3 years of incarceration by the Honorable Barry A. Schwartz. A multi-agency joint investigation, including NYC DOI and two federal agencies, exposed the theft of approximately $300,000 in public funds provided by New York State, the New York City Council, and federal earmark grants. On October 22, 2015, a jury convicted Dorothy Ogundu on 29 counts, including Grand Larceny in the Second Degree.
Dorothy N. Ogundu engaged in a scheme to defraud the City of New York, the State of New York and the United States using her not-for-profit corporation, Angeldocs, Inc. Angeldocs received a total of twelve government grants. Ogundu stole a portion of each of the twelve government grants by filing fraudulent requests for reimbursement and making false statements to the government agencies administering the grants. Ogundu used the money she stole from these government grants to pay the mortgage and utilities on a commercial property she owned, make improvements to that property to increase its value, purchase and ship vehicles to Nigeria, and make other purchases for her personal benefit and for the benefit of her for-profit business.
“Today’s sentence sends a clear message: if you use taxpayer funds to line your own pocket, you will face serious consequences,” said Attorney General Schneiderman. “We will continue to work with Comptroller DiNapoli and our law enforcement partners to use every tool at our disposal to crack down on anyone abusing the public trust.”
“This sentence holds Ms. Ogundu accountable for stealing from needy New Yorkers,” said *State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli.* “I commend Attorney General Schneiderman, the HUD Inspector General’s Office and the New York City Department of Investigation for their commitment to fighting public corruption.”
Commissioner Mark G. Peters said, “This defendant created a charade of good will to steal public funds intended to help others with their health care costs. Prison time is a just result for this crime of theft and greed. We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners on these important investigations.”
“Dorothy Ogundu ‎treated valuable federal grant funds entrusted to her for public services like an ATM machine for her own personal use, which is unacceptable,” said *Scott Lampert, Special Agent in Charge of the Office of Inspector General, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, New York Region*. “This is a successful example of working with our partners at the New York State Attorney General’s Office to uncover and ultimately bring to justice a person who sought to enrich themselves with money from federal programs.”
“Ms. Ogundu’s sentence should remind our citizens that the HUD OIG and our law enforcement partners consider theft and misuse of grant funds for personal use as extremely serious and offensive and hope that today’s sentence will deter anyone who contemplates engaging in this conduct,” said Christina Scaringi, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development, Office of Inspector General, Northeast Region
