Nassau Woman Embezzled More Than $120,000 From Local Union: DA

GARDEN CITY, NY — A Nassau County woman was arrested Thursday and charged with embezzling more than $120,000 from the union she worked for, the district attorney's office said.

Jennifer Jira, 40, of Westbury was arraigned Thursday on charges of second-degree grand larceny and five 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.

“Slowly, over a period of years, the defendant allegedly leveraged her access to Local 713’s financial accounts to siphon more than $120,000 from its coffers, using the funds to pay for living expenses, clothing and utilities,” said Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly. “This alleged conduct violates the trust employers put in their employees to do their jobs honestly and with integrity.”

Jira worked as a bookkeeper for Local 713 International Brotherhood of Trade Union, located in Garden City, from April 2014 to September 2021. As part of her job, she was responsible for reviewing and recording the union's financial activity, and had access to its financial records and accounting and payroll software.

According to Donnelly, from June 215 through August 2021, Jira issued 384 checks payable to herself from the union's accounts, worth a total of $123,468. Donnelly said she cashed more than 300 of the checks at check-cashing businesses in New Hyde park, Hempstead and Levittown, as well as depositing some directly into her own bank account. The fraudulent checks ranged between $64 and $1230.87, Donnelly said.

To cover up the fraud, Donnelly said that Jira made false entries into the union's accounting software, changing the information on the checks to make it look like they went to legitimate vendors.

After discovering an unauthorized check issued from the union’s bank account in August 2021, the union started an audit of all its accounts and found more unauthorized checks. Donnelly said. The leaders of the union confronted Jira about the fraud, and she was fired on Sept. 7, 2021, Donnelly said. The union then contacted the DA's office.