Defendants allegedly stole more than $12,000 in school funds earmarked for students in a gift card scheme and purchased luxury handbags, jewelry, and personal expenses over a four-year period
WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. – Westchester County District Attorney Miriam E. Rocah and NY State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli announced that the former superintendent of schools and a former security system specialist of the Greenburgh-Graham Union Free School District were arrested on corruption charges for allegedly stealing school district funds earmarked for students and spending them on personal and luxury expenses between 2018 and 2022.
The defendants, Oliver Levy, 55, of Stony Point in Rockland County, and Surendra Kumar, 47, of Yonkers, were arrested today by the Westchester County District Attorney’s Office and arraigned on felony charges of Grand Larceny in the Third Degree as a Crime of Public Corruption and Corrupting the Government in the Third Degree in the Town of Greenburgh Justice Court before Judge Erin McGoey. Their next court date is June 26 in Hastings-on-Hudson Village Court.
“This alleged act of public corruption by those responsible for the care of students in need betrayed the trust of the entire school district community. We applaud the Office of the New York State Comptroller for their exhaustive investigation and bringing this case to our Office,” DA Rocah said.
As alleged in the felony complaint, Levy and Kumar aided, abetted and acted in concert with each other in a scheme where Levy approved Kumar’s purchase of 168 gift cards between July 18 and May 2022. The defendants allegedly used more than $12,000 of the gift card funds for personal expenses, including jewelry, luxury handbags, private school fees for relatives, and veterinary services.
“Levy and Kumar were entrusted with money meant to enrich the lives of students with disabilities; instead, they allegedly enriched their own lives by spending the money on lavish gifts for themselves. Thanks to my partnership with District Attorney Rocah they will now be held accountable for their actions,” Comptroller DiNapoli said.
The investigation was conducted by the Office of the New York State Comptroller and the Economic Crimes Unit and Public Integrity Unit of the DA’s Office Criminal Investigators Squad.
The case is being prosecuted by Public Integrity and Law Enforcement Integrity Bureau Assistant District Attorney Sheila Horgan of the Trials and Investigations Division.
The charges against the defendants are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
The Greenburgh-Graham Union Free School District (GGUFSD) is a special act school district in Hastings-on-Hudson, New York. It teaches 300 disabled and at risk students. Superintendent Oliver was still listed in some of the online employee listings at the time of his arrest.
