Former County Employees Indicted in Parking Fee Fraud Scheme
A year-long investigation conducted by the Westchester County District Attorney’s office, uncovered a fraud scheme resulting in more than $195,000 in stolen parking fees and MetroCard sales from the Westchester County Center parking lot located at 198 Central Park Avenue in White Plains.
Three former county employees, Jahmai Samuel of the Bronx, Marcus Harris of Mount Vernon and Alessia Velez of Richmond Hill were charged with grand larceny a felony charge and considered to be the principal defendants in an investigation resulting in charges against an additional 12 individuals.
In addition, Sha’Quay Cheeseboro-Dennis of Mount Vernon, was charged by felony complaint.
These four defendants were all employees of the Westchester County Department of Parks, Recreation and Conservation that operates the parking facility.
The remaining eleven defendants are friends, girlfriends, relatives or associates of the employees.
Over a three year period from August 13th, 2009 to June 29th, 2012, these defendants were involved in a scheme that involved employees at the parking lot selling full year, half year, or quarterly parking permits to unsuspecting customers, who were told to write the check out to a “third party,” rather than Westchester County.
Customers were told that these “third parties” had lost their jobs, or moved and no longer needed their parking space and were trying to recoup a portion of their parking permit fee. The names that the customers were induced to write on the checks were usually one of the defendants or a friend/family member.
The total theft includes approximately $10,000 in cash Samuel took in Metro-North Railroad proceeds that were ostensibly remitted by the County to Metro-North that the New York City Transit MetroCard Fraud Unit was able to document.
In addition to the amounts deposited directly into their own bank accounts, these defendants used the bank accounts of other individuals to deposit additional stolen monies.
The total larceny from all fourteen defendants is more than $195,000. Their cases are pending.
The scheme came to light last summer when Jahmai Samuel was the victim of a gun shot robbery on June 29th, 2012, in the Bronx. When the NYPD questioned Samuels about why he was in possession of $3,000 cash, he maintained that the money was customer parking cash receipts from his job, which “he forgot to take to the bank after work.”
The New York City shooting proved to be the catalyst for this investigation in that it prompted questions as to how an employee of the Westchester County Department of Parks came in to position of that much cash representing parking proceeds.
Bail for Samuel was continued at $5,000 cash or bond. He faces a maximum sentence of fifteen years in state prison. Bail for Harris was continued at $5,000 cash or bond. Velez was released on her own recognizance. Harris and Velez face a maximum sentence of seven years in state prison. Their next court date is December 12, 2013.
Cheeseboro-Dennis faces a maximum sentence of four years in state prison. She was released on her own recognizance.
Assistant District Attorney Brian Conway, Deputy Chief of the Public Integrity Bureau is prosecuting the cases.
Adam has worked in the local news industry for the past two decades in Westchester County and the broader Hudson Valley. Read more from Adam’s author bio here.
