Rabbi Stole Millions Of Dollars Meant For Disabled Kids At Queens Pre-School

QUEENS, NY – A rabbi who stole millions of dollars meant for disabled kids at a Queens pre-school center has been jailed for up to three years.

Rabbi Samuel Hiller, 59, of Far Rockaway, was one of four people who took $12 million of state funds meant for kids at the now defunct Island Child Development Center, once one of the city's largest special education service providers for preschoolers with disabilities, Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown said.

The center was a not-for-profit company that served pre-school children in the Far Rockaway's Orthodox Jewish communities along with those in Williamsburg and Borough Park, Brooklyn.

Hiller, its former assistant director, helped take the money from $27 million received in state funding between 2005 to 2012, Brown said.

The four gave the money to their defendants' relatives, invested it in for-profit businesses and used it for personal expenses like jewelry, a family wedding and home renovations, according to the district attorney’s Detective Bureau and Economic Crimes Bureau.

“The betrayal of the public trust by this defendant who stole funds which were earmarked for special needs pre-schoolers with disabilities and used them for his personal gain was deplorable," Brown said.

"The sentence imposed today by the court sends a strong message that people who are engaged in fraudulent activities will be brought to justice and held accountable for their actions.”

Hiller, who pleaded guilty to first-degree grand larceny in April, was sentenced to one to three years in prison. He was also ordered to repay $1 million of the money stolen and forfeit more than $1 million in assets.

Former ICDC Executive Director Ira Kurman pleaded guilty last September to grand larceny. Roy Hoffmann, an independent auditor hired by ICDC, also pleaded guilty last September to grand larceny. Both await sentencing in December. Daniel Laniado, an investor in ICDC, pleaded guilty to identity theft in April.

Photo via Patch