Former NYU Administrator Charged in $3.5M Fraud Scheme

Cindy Tappe, a former director of finance at New York University, was charged with allegedly siphoning millions of dollars earmarked for minority and women-owned business and using a portion to pay for personal and luxury expenses.

One of the expenses cited by the indictment is an $80,000 pool for her home in Connecticut, according to prosecutors.

“Cindy Tappe used her high-ranking position at NYU to divert more than $660,000 in state funds to companies she controlled to fund a lavish lifestyle,” said New York State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli.

The New York Post reports:

A former New York University director of finance allegedly siphoned $3.5 million meant for minority and women-owned businesses and blew some of the cash on herself — including on an $80,000 pool for her Connecticut home, prosecutors said Monday.

Cindy Tappe, 57, was charged with diverting funds from New York State Education Department grants into shell companies that she created over a six-year scheme that was discovered in 2018, when she left NYU, according to the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office…. (Excerpt from The Gateway Pundit)