Man Who Ran 'Bogus' Flatbush Daycare Gets Up To 15 Years In Prison

FLATBUSH, BROOKLYN — A Brooklyn man who was convicted of stealing more than $50,000 from the city while operating a "bogus" daycare center will be in prison for up to 15 years, the Brooklyn District Attorney's Office said.

Owen Larman, a 44-year-old man from Prospect-Lefferts Gardens, got the maximum of 7.5 to 15 years from Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Guy Mangano. Larman had been convicted earlier this month on charges of larceny, bribery, possession of a forged instrument and offering a false instrument for filing.

"Not only did this defendant steal tens of thousands of dollars from New York City taxpayers, in carrying out his scheme, he showed utter disregard for the safety of children in his care," acting Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said in a press release. "Today’s sentence – the maximum possible – holds the defendant fully accountable for his crimes and for the magnitude of what he did."

One of his daycare centers, on Flatbush Avenue and Vanderveer Place, was "grossly overcrowded," a fact he hid from investigators by bussing kids off campus when he knew authorities were coming by, the D.A.'s office said.

He "opened" another facility that he didn't have a lease for and got city funds to take care of kids who were actually attending the overcrowded one, the D.A. said. Larman also forged the signature of a former employee to get children's services funds for kids who weren't being taken care of at all, prosecutors said.

All told, he made off with $51,667, the D.A.'s office said.

Read more about Larman's scheme here.

Image via Brooklyn D.A.'s office