Duo Stole Thousands From Youth Program At Forest Hills Center: DA

FOREST HILLS, QUEENS — Two young people who worked at a Forest Hills community center were charged with grand larceny and defrauding the government for allegedly stealing thousands of dollars meant for youth summer employees, Queens DA Melinda Katz announced on Wednesday.

Rahmello Poole, 27, and Mariah Moore, 23 — both of southeast Queens — worked at the Central Queens Y in the summer of 2018 as a worksite coordinator and administrative clerk, respectively. In their roles, the pair reportedly filed fake timesheets for employees who weren’t working, and then used the money themselves, according to the DA.

Katz said that these funds came from the city’s Summer Youth Employment Program, which is “intended to provide job opportunities to Queens teenagers as well as funding for literacy services, after school programs and more,” not for personal spending. The program is run by the city’s Department of Youth and Community Development, or DYCD.

Poole and Moore, who reportedly withdrew $9,330 and $7,582, respectively, for personal use, face up to 2 1/3 to 7 years in prison if convicted.

The DYCD did not immediately respond to Patch’s request for comment. A spokesperson for Commonpoint Queens — the joint venture of two former Queens Y’s, including the Forest Hills location — said that the group will respond soon.

34 charges

In the summer of 2018, some teen workers at the Central Queens Y’s Summer Youth Employment Program were paid with debit cards instead of bank deposits.

Poole had access to the debit cards and PIN numbers and Moore was in charge of entering timesheets into the payroll database, so the pair worked together to register 13 teen workers for the summer, and then paid the money out to themselves, records show.

Poole reportedly approved the fake timesheets and Moore, who reported to him, inputted the fake work hours, the charges read.

Since the teen workers weren’t actually employed that summer, when their parents got paperwork showing their supposed wages, they alerted the Queens Y. The community center told the DYCD, which sent the case to the city’s Department of Investigation.

The investigative department, along with the DA, audited the records, and found the workers who weren’t registered for the summer but were still receiving fake work hours and pay.

In addition to the thousands that each young person withdrew, Poole reportedly used a debit card on a $56 transaction, and Moore reportedly spent $360 in several transactions.

Poole and Moore are now facing 34 charges in response to the investigation including grand larceny, falsifying business records, defrauding the government, and tampering with public records.

The two are expected back in court on Dec. 16.