Former NUMC Payroll Director Stole More Than $120,000: Nassau DA

EAST MEADOW, NY — The former payroll director of Nassau County Medical Center was indicted on charges of embezzling more than $120,000 from the hospital, the district attorney announced.

Arlena Mann, 46, of Bay Shore, was indicted on charges of second-degree grand larceny and six counts of first-degree falsifying business records. She pleaded not guilty and was released on her own recognizance. If convicted of the top charge, she could face up to 15 years in prison.

“This defendant allegedly used her access to key bookkeeping and payroll software to bilk the cash-strapped public hospital out of more than $120,000,” Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly said. “These are funds NUMC sorely needs to provide adequate services and patient care to Nassau County residents. Employees of public institutions like NUMC have a duty to perform their jobs with integrity because residents depend on it.”

According to Donnelly, between March 2019 and July 2021, while she was the payroll director at NUMC, Mann used the hospital's payroll software to give payments to former employees who had left the organization. However, Donnelly said that Mann changed the banking information to funnel the money to accounts she controlled.

Once the payments were processed, Donnelly said that Mann voided them in the bookkeeping software to make it seem they were never processed and that no money was transferred. Donnely said that Mann did this more than 50 times with more than 50 former employees. In all, Donnelly said she stole more than $121,000.

The theft was discovered in the spring of 2021 by an employee in the hospital's payroll division, Donnelly said. After an internal investigation, Mann was fired in July 2021, and the case was given to the DA's office.