Three people were indicted in two separate cases for allegedly defrauding NYS of nearly $1 million through schemes involving education-related funds, the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office and the state Comptroller’s office said on Tuesday.
The comptroller’s office referred both cases to Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office.
In one case, Cadelie Neat, 60, an accounts payable manager at CUNY’s John Jay College of Criminal Justice on the Upper West Side, is accused of stealing around $710,000 by submitting fraudulent requests for student stipend checks that were purportedly on behalf of participants in the school’s Academic Preparation Program for Law Enforcement.
Prosecutors allege that between Dec. 2018 and April 2026, the defendant generated more than 260 fraudulent stipend payments by using the names of current and former students and other fake names to create false requests. The checks were allegedly mailed to her home and deposited directly into her personal bank accounts at ATMs in Manhattan.
Neat used the money to pay for personal expenses such as travel, dining, and home repairs, per authorities.
Meanwhile, in an unrelated separate indictment, Cheryl Carr, 73, of Queens, and Andrea Williams, 47, of the Bronx, were accused of stealing $288,529 meant for the Harlem Children’s Zone Promise Academy Charter School.
In this case, the duo allegedly incorporated a similarly named entity called Harlem Children’s Zone Promise Academy II Charter LLC, in Idaho in Sept. 2023, court documents detailed.
Prosecutors allege Carr opened bank accounts for the entity, while Williams, a former staff accountant for the Manhattan-based charter school, sent IRS documents related to the fraudulent organization from her work email to her personal account.
Authorities allege Carr diverted and deposited two checks totaling close to $289,000 that were intended for two of the Harlem Children’s Zone charter schools into the Idaho account.
“When you defraud the state, you steal from all 20 million New Yorkers,” Bragg said. “Our investigations with the New York State comptroller uncovered nearly $1 million of theft from the public fisc. The crimes alleged in both indictments targeted funds intended to support students, from grade schoolers to college students.”
Meanwhile, state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli said he would protect taxpayer money and pursue accountability for those accused of public fraud.
“These defendants engaged in elaborate schemes to allegedly divert taxpayer money from worthy programs into their own pockets,” DiNapoli said. “I will continue to safeguard public funds and work with law enforcement across the state at every level to hold those who would defraud the taxpayers accountable.”
A spokesperson for John Jay told amNewYork “the college takes allegations involving the misuse of public funds very seriously and is cooperating fully with law enforcement.”
The spokesperson said the school could not comment further, including on Neat’s employment status, because the case is an active criminal and personnel matter.