By Sadef Ali Kully
A volunteer emergency medical technician who stole over $300,000 from the Corona Community Volunteer Ambulance Corps was sentenced to serve four months in jail and five years probation, and ordered to pay full restitution announced, state attorney general said.
Corona Community Volunteer Ambulance Corps, founded in 1960, is a non-profit volunteer ambulance organization.
Daniel Dominguez, 39, pleaded guilty Jan. 14 to grand larceny in the third degree, a felony. Dominguez was sentenced before Justice Joel Blumenfeld in Queens Supreme Court. If Dominguez fails to pay the full restitution amount, he faces up to seven years in prison.
“Daniel Dominguez used this charity dedicated to providing medical services to New Yorkers as his own personal piggy bank,” AG Eric Schneiderman said. “This defendant is not only headed to jail, but also must repay every dollar that he stole from the nonprofit. Our message is clear: Crime doesn’t pay.”
According to the criminal complaint filed by Schneiderman’s office, from March 2009 to May 2011, Dominguez used his position as a board member and treasurer of Corona Community Volunteer Ambulance Corps to steal more than $300,000 from the ambulance corps’ bank accounts. Dominguez used his access to bank accounts to transfer funds directly into his own personal accounts, it said.
Dominguez then used the money to live the high life: extravagant jaunts to Walt Disney World and Niagara Falls, as well as purchases of luxury car service trips, theater tickets, rent, car payments and fancy meals, according to court records.
The investigation started with a complaint from corps board members to the attorney general’s Charities Bureau about possible missing or misappropriated funds from their bank accounts, Schneiderman said. An investigation conducted by attorneys and an accountant in the Charities Bureau uncovered hundreds of thousands of dollars embezzled from the not-for-profit, according to the attorney general.
Daryl Adeva and David Moretti, also emergency medical technicians, who were accused of stealing smaller amounts, each pleaded guilty last year to attempted grand larceny in the fourth degree, a misdemeanor, the AG said.
Reach Reporter Sadef Ali Kully by e-mail at skull
