Witness_ Budget, finance committee oversaw work of Schechter School of Long Island CFO David Ostrove, charged with stealing $8.4M - Newsday.pdf

Witness_ Budget, finance committee oversaw work of Schechter School of Long Island CFO David Ostrove, charged with stealing $8.4M - Newsday.pdf

1. 3/8/24, 10:36 AM Witness: Budget, finance committee oversaw work of Schechter School of Long Island CFO David Ostrove, charged with stealing …
https://web0.cc/a/DoIG74FBcK 1/12
Newsday
Witness: Budget, finance
committee oversaw work
of Schechter School of Long Island
CFO David Ostrove, charged with
stealing $8.4M
By Grant
[email protected]@GrantParpanUpdated March
1, 2024 7:51 am
11 minutes
Two former administrators at the Schechter School of
Long Island told a jury Thursday that a budget and
finance committee was tasked with reviewing the chief
financial officer's work and an independent accounting
firm also audited the school each year.
But it wasn't until a Suffolk County District Attorney's
Office investigator approached one of them in April 2022
that they learned former CFO David Ostrove had
allegedly transferred $8.4 million in school funds to

2. 3/8/24, 10:36 AM Witness: Budget, finance committee oversaw work of Schechter School of Long Island CFO David Ostrove, charged with stealing …
https://web0.cc/a/DoIG74FBcK 2/12
personal accounts over the previous eight years, they
told the jury on the fourth day of testimony in his criminal
trial.
"Had anyone ever questioned Mr. Ostrove?" defense
attorney Ralph Franco Jr. of Manhattan asked former
head of school Cynthia Dolgin, who helped hire Ostrove
in 2011.
"No," the administrator responded.
Dolgin testified that Ostrove was guarded about how he
handled school finances, sharing only broad overviews
of school accounts with her. When she expressed an
interest in learning more about how Ostrove used
spreadsheets, he declined to show her, she told the jury.
"He said jokingly, or at least I thought he was joking, 'If I
showed you all my secrets, you wouldn't need me
anymore,'" Dolgin said.
Ostrove, 52, of West Islip, is charged with first-degree
grand larceny and first-degree money laundering in the

3. 3/8/24, 10:36 AM Witness: Budget, finance committee oversaw work of Schechter School of Long Island CFO David Ostrove, charged with stealing …
https://web0.cc/a/DoIG74FBcK 3/12
trial before state Supreme Court Justice John Collins in
Riverhead. An 11-year employee of the K-12 Jewish day
school, he is accused of diverting the funds over an
eight-year period from 2014-2022 from school PayPal
and Stripe accounts into personal banking platforms and
using the money to buy three luxury vehicles, sports
collectibles, historical memorabilia, coins and five homes
on Fire Island. Ostrove was suspended by the school in
April 2022 and arrested that July.
Dolgin said she did raise one specific concern she had
with Ostrove, when she personally told him at the start of
his tenure to limit credit card payments for tuition.
Instead, she told the jury, he allowed more families to
pay that way over time.
The increased credit card payments allowed more
money to flow into the digital banking platforms
prosecutors have said Ostrove used to transfer school
revenues into his personal bank accounts, according to
witness testimony.

4. 3/8/24, 10:36 AM Witness: Budget, finance committee oversaw work of Schechter School of Long Island CFO David Ostrove, charged with stealing …
https://web0.cc/a/DoIG74FBcK 4/12
"I was surprised by how much money was coming into
the school through PayPal," Dolgin testified, referring to
the method the school used to process credit card
payments. "[PayPal had] very high fees."
Dolgin said Ostrove had pushed to allow the credit card
payments, arguing it provided an "ease of use" and
allowed parents of students to earn rewards points from
their banks. They agreed to only let parents use credit
cards for tuition if they made sizable donations that
exceeded processing fees, the administrator testified.
But Dolgin later learned from the investigation that by
2017 Ostrove was allowing "just about everybody" to
use credit cards to pay tuition at the Williston Park
school.
Richard Levitas, owner of the digital fundraising platform
the school used to accept credit card payments and
process them through PayPal, and later Stripe, testified
earlier that by 2017, Schechter School was using his
product, Wizevents, more than just about any other

5. 3/8/24, 10:36 AM Witness: Budget, finance committee oversaw work of Schechter School of Long Island CFO David Ostrove, charged with stealing …
https://web0.cc/a/DoIG74FBcK 5/12
client. Instead of using it only for auction galas, as most
schools did, Schechter School was processing
everything from prom payments to yearbook orders and
drama club tickets through the software, Levitas testified.
"It was great," Levitas told the jury. "I don't have this type
of usage … I was very impressed."
Dolgin and her successor as head of school, Scott Sokol,
told the jury the school placed significant trust in Ostrove
to handle the school's finances. Sokol said he was
unaware the school even had a Stripe account until after
Ostrove was suspended. Investigators said Ostrove
switched to Stripe after PayPal began to question
Ostrove's use of the school account.
"I didn't really know how [credit card payments] were
processed," Sokol said. "Just that we took them."
Franco also attempted to bring the credibility of Sokol's
testimony into question, pointing to invoices he sent to
the Schechter School, for whom he now serves as a

6. 3/8/24, 10:36 AM Witness: Budget, finance committee oversaw work of Schechter School of Long Island CFO David Ostrove, charged with stealing …
https://web0.cc/a/DoIG74FBcK 6/12
consultant, to be paid for testimony he gave at a prior
hearing regarding the Ostrove case and trial preparation
with prosecutors.
Franco asked Sokol if he intended to submit an invoice
for his trial testimony.
"I'm really not sure," Sokol said.
The trial will continue with more testimony from Sokol
and other school officials Friday.
Two former administrators at the Schechter School of
Long Island told a jury Thursday that a budget and
finance committee was tasked with reviewing the chief
financial officer's work and an independent accounting
firm also audited the school each year.
But it wasn't until a Suffolk County District Attorney's
Office investigator approached one of them in April 2022
that they learned former CFO David Ostrove had
allegedly transferred $8.4 million in school funds to
personal accounts over the previous eight years, they

7. 3/8/24, 10:36 AM Witness: Budget, finance committee oversaw work of Schechter School of Long Island CFO David Ostrove, charged with stealing …
https://web0.cc/a/DoIG74FBcK 7/12
told the jury on the fourth day of testimony in his criminal
trial.
"Had anyone ever questioned Mr. Ostrove?" defense
attorney Ralph Franco Jr. of Manhattan asked former
head of school Cynthia Dolgin, who helped hire Ostrove
in 2011.
"No," the administrator responded.
WHAT TO KNOW
Two former administrators at the Schechter
School of Long Island told a jury Thursday that a
budget and finance committee was tasked with
reviewing the chief financial officer's work.
The testimony came on the fourth day in the
trial of former CFO David Ostrove,
who allegedly transferred $8.4 million in school
funds to personal accounts over an eight-year
period.

8. 3/8/24, 10:36 AM Witness: Budget, finance committee oversaw work of Schechter School of Long Island CFO David Ostrove, charged with stealing …
https://web0.cc/a/DoIG74FBcK 8/12
Former head of school Cynthia Dolgin testified
that Ostrove was guarded about how he handled
school finances, sharing only broad overviews of
school accounts with her.
Dolgin testified that Ostrove was guarded about how he
handled school finances, sharing only broad overviews
of school accounts with her. When she expressed an
interest in learning more about how Ostrove used
spreadsheets, he declined to show her, she told the jury.
"He said jokingly, or at least I thought he was joking, 'If I
showed you all my secrets, you wouldn't need me
anymore,'" Dolgin said.
Ostrove, 52, of West Islip, is charged with first-degree
grand larceny and first-degree money laundering in the
trial before state Supreme Court Justice John Collins in
Riverhead. An 11-year employee of the K-12 Jewish day
school, he is accused of diverting the funds over an
eight-year period from 2014-2022 from school PayPal
and Stripe accounts into personal banking platforms and

9. 3/8/24, 10:36 AM Witness: Budget, finance committee oversaw work of Schechter School of Long Island CFO David Ostrove, charged with stealing …
https://web0.cc/a/DoIG74FBcK 9/12
using the money to buy three luxury vehicles, sports
collectibles, historical memorabilia, coins and five homes
on Fire Island. Ostrove was suspended by the school in
April 2022 and arrested that July.
Dolgin said she did raise one specific concern she had
with Ostrove, when she personally told him at the start of
his tenure to limit credit card payments for tuition.
Instead, she told the jury, he allowed more families to
pay that way over time.
The increased credit card payments allowed more
money to flow into the digital banking platforms
prosecutors have said Ostrove used to transfer school
revenues into his personal bank accounts, according to
witness testimony.
"I was surprised by how much money was coming into
the school through PayPal," Dolgin testified, referring to
the method the school used to process credit card
payments. "[PayPal had] very high fees."

10. 3/8/24, 10:36 AM Witness: Budget, finance committee oversaw work of Schechter School of Long Island CFO David Ostrove, charged with stealing …
https://web0.cc/a/DoIG74FBcK 10/12
Dolgin said Ostrove had pushed to allow the credit card
payments, arguing it provided an "ease of use" and
allowed parents of students to earn rewards points from
their banks. They agreed to only let parents use credit
cards for tuition if they made sizable donations that
exceeded processing fees, the administrator testified.
But Dolgin later learned from the investigation that by
2017 Ostrove was allowing "just about everybody" to
use credit cards to pay tuition at the Williston Park
school.
Richard Levitas, owner of the digital fundraising platform
the school used to accept credit card payments and
process them through PayPal, and later Stripe, testified
earlier that by 2017, Schechter School was using his
product, Wizevents, more than just about any other
client. Instead of using it only for auction galas, as most
schools did, Schechter School was processing
everything from prom payments to yearbook orders and
drama club tickets through the software, Levitas testified.

11. 3/8/24, 10:36 AM Witness: Budget, finance committee oversaw work of Schechter School of Long Island CFO David Ostrove, charged with stealing …
https://web0.cc/a/DoIG74FBcK 11/12
"It was great," Levitas told the jury. "I don't have this type
of usage … I was very impressed."
Dolgin and her successor as head of school, Scott Sokol,
told the jury the school placed significant trust in Ostrove
to handle the school's finances. Sokol said he was
unaware the school even had a Stripe account until after
Ostrove was suspended. Investigators said Ostrove
switched to Stripe after PayPal began to question
Ostrove's use of the school account.
"I didn't really know how [credit card payments] were
processed," Sokol said. "Just that we took them."
Franco also attempted to bring the credibility of Sokol's
testimony into question, pointing to invoices he sent to
the Schechter School, for whom he now serves as a
consultant, to be paid for testimony he gave at a prior
hearing regarding the Ostrove case and trial preparation
with prosecutors.

12. 3/8/24, 10:36 AM Witness: Budget, finance committee oversaw work of Schechter School of Long Island CFO David Ostrove, charged with stealing …
https://web0.cc/a/DoIG74FBcK 12/12
Franco asked Sokol if he intended to submit an invoice
for his trial testimony.
"I'm really not sure," Sokol said.
The trial will continue with more testimony from Sokol
and other school officials Friday.
Grant Parpan covers Suffolk County courts and federal
courts for Newsday. A Long Island native, he joined
Newsday in 2022.