By Adam Kramer
The cousin of the Grammy award-winning rap pioneer LL Cool J was indicted Jan. 18 for the alleged theft of $150,000 from the rapper and parents from southeastern Queens who enrolled their children in a summer camp sponsored by the performer, the Queens district attorney said.
Cynthia Cooper, 31, of 36 Angevine Ave. in Hempstead, L.I., is charged with a scheme to defraud LL Cool J and parents who registered their children for Camp Cool J.
“The defendant is charged with having betrayed the trust of the family member who hired her as well as the entire southeast Queens community,” said Queens DA Richard Brown. “She allegedly charged families fees for a summer camp for their children, which was intended to be free, and then greedily pocketed the funds.”
Brown said Cooper was charged with grand larceny, scheme to defraud, falsifying business records and 90 counts of petit larceny. If convicted, Cooper could face up to 15 years in jail.
According to the charges, Cooper, who managed LL Cool J's St. Albans offices, stole checks sent to her cousin and Camp Cool J totaling more than $125,000 that she was responsible for during the rapper's extensive travels and time out of his office.
A majority of the money allegedly stolen by Cooper was donated to LL Cool J's camp by major corporations such as Coca Cola, McDonald's and Walden Books, said Brown.
Cooper also allegedly requested reimbursement for thousands of dollars in fictitious travel and related expenses, the DA said.
The district attorney's office said Cooper allegedly opened bank accounts with herself and mother acting as the signatories at the Dime Savings Bank. After depositing the money and waiting for the checks to clear, they withdrew the money for their own personal use.
Cooper was also charged with stealing thousands of dollars from parents who wanted to send their children to Camp Cool J. Cooper allegedly charged parents a $25 registration fee to send their children to the rapper's summer camp in 1998 without LL Cool J's knowledge, said Brown.
In addition, she was charged with petit larceny because she allegedly scammed parents from St. Albans and Cambria Heights by charging them a registration fee for the camp in 1999, even though she knew there was no camp scheduled because LL Cool J had decided to focus his efforts on helping high school-aged youth.
LL Cool J, whose given name is James Todd Smith, stands for Ladies Love Cool James. A multi-talented actor, musician and producer and Grammy award-winning rapper, he is one of the most recognized rappers in the business.
