Employee stole from provider for kids with developmental disabilities, prosecutors say

A search for bank records at a company that serves children with disabilities led to the accidental discovery that its payroll taxes had not been paid — and that in turn led to the arrest of its former finance director for stealing more than $140,000, Nassau prosecutors said on Tuesday.

Patricia Sales, 46, of Huntington Station, was charged Monday with grand larceny. If found guilty, a prison sentence could range from five to 15 years, prosecutors said.

Sales was fired from All About Kids, which provides therapeutic services, on Feb. 7, 2020, District Attorney Madeline Singas' office said in a statement. The company has six offices in New York, including one in Plainview.

The defendant's attorney declined comment. Sales was released on her own recognizance, according to the prosecutors, after being arraigned before Judge Lisa Petrocelli.

While serving as the director of finance, they said, Sales "had access to the company’s payroll and accounting system for generating checks, as well as a stamp with the owner’s signature."

In February 2020, staffers looked in her office for copies of bank statements; the prosecutors said they came upon several IRS notices saying no payroll taxes had been paid since at least June 2019. All About Kids was being dunned for more than $700,000 in past due taxes, and $140,000 in penalties.

What prosecutors termed the organization's "extensive review of checks, bank statements, and accounting systems" uncovered that Sales "allegedly created unauthorized checks made out to herself."

All About Kids turned its findings over to the prosecutors. The exact amount Sales is charged with stealing is $143,680.