MINEOLA, N.Y. – Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice announced that a Suffolk man was sentenced today for stealing more than $244,000 from his employer, a healthcare network that provides palliative care for patients with terminal illnesses.
Jeffrey Mohamed, 38, of Medford, was sentenced today by Nassau County Court Judge George Peck to 2 to 6 years in prison and ordered to pay $189,607.59 in restitution, which is in addition to the $55,000 restitution paid by Mohamed in court today. Mohamed was found guilty by a jury of two counts of Grand Larceny in the 2nd Degree (a C felony) in October 2013.
“When this defendant committed these crimes, he violated the trust placed in him by his employer, the terminally ill patients he was supposed to serve, and the families relying on essential end-of-life care for their loved ones,” DA Rice said. “The sentence in this case is well deserved, and says that those who take advantage of people looking to spend their last days with a degree of comfort, dignity and peace will be met with serious consequences.”
DA Rice said that from January 2003 to March 2011, Mohamed, who was employed as the chief technology officer for the Hospice Care Network, embezzled more than $244,000 from his employer by making unauthorized purchases of computers, televisions, and other electronic equipment through his employer’s accounts, and then either keeping the items or by selling the equipment and keeping the proceeds.
Senior management officials at Hospice Care Network discovered the theft during a review of open orders for IT equipment from a vendor in April 2011. The discovery took place after Mohamed was terminated from the company for unrelated reasons in March 2011. Hospice Care Network filed a complaint with the New York State Police, who then referred the case to the DA Rice’s office for additional investigation in May 2011.
The investigation revealed that Mohamed used the money to pay for personal expenses like gas and household furnishings, as well as health club memberships, video games, clothing, gambling, children’s toys, and hotel stays. Mohamed was arrested and charged in February 2012.
Hospice Care Network, which has its principle office in Woodbury, also has locations in Queens, Valley Stream, Bay Shore, and Melville, and provides care within private homes as well.
After the two-week trial, the jury deliberated for three hours before finding Mohamed guilty – rejecting the defense’s claims that there was insufficient evidence to prove that Mohamed had stolen the money.
Assistant District Attorney Peter Mancuso of DA Rice’s Government & Consumer Frauds Bureau is prosecuting the case. Mohamed is represented by Emrah Artukmac, Esq.
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