Nassau Woman Stole More Than $1 Million From Company: DA

MASSAPEQUA PARK, NY — A Nassau County woman who worked as the officer manager for a pharmaceutical company was charged with stealing more than $1 million from the company over a period of years, prosecutors say.

Maria Porras, 32, was charged with three counts of second-degree grand larceny, four counts of third-degree criminal tax fraud and four counts of offering a false instrument for filing. She was released on her own recognizance and is due back in court on Jan. 13. If convicted, she could face up to 15 years in prison.

“This defendant allegedly abused her position as an office manager at RXUSA, using her access to the company’s bookkeeping system — and the accounts of two other affiliate companies — to deposit checks into her personal account and line her pockets with more than a million dollars of the companies’ funds over five years,” said Acting Nassau County District Attorney Joyce Smith. “Unscrupulous employees who choose greed over principle will be held accountable by this office for their actions.”

From 2015 to 2019, Porras worked as the office manager for RXUSA, a pharmaceutical company based in Port Washington. As part of her job, she had access to the company's bookkeeping system, which allowed her to make checks written from RXUSA's account and from the accounts of two other affiliated companies — Eveready Wholesale Drugs, Inc. and PBM America, Inc. The owner of the companies, Robert Drucker, died in march 2017, and the companies closed in December 2019.

According to Smith, it was discovered that Porras had deposited checks from RXUSA written out to the company's vendors and diverted incoming checks to her personal account. Smith said that Porras embezzled $1,384,487.71 from the three companies between 2015 and 2020.

Porras was arrested by Port Washington police on Nov. 11, 2020.

The New York State Department of Taxation and Finance also started an investigation, which Smith said revealed that Porras failed to report the income she had allegedly stolen on her personal tax returns and failed to pay the full taxes she owed from 2016 to 2019.

“Taxpayers who fraudulently evade their tax obligations deprive the state and our communities critical funding for vital public programs and services," said Taxation and Finance Acting Commissioner Amanda Hiller. "We’ll continue to work with all levels of law enforcement, including the Nassau County District Attorney’s Office, to ensure those who illegally profit at the expense of others are held accountable.”