Mark G. Peters, Commissioner of the New York City Department of Investigation (“DOI”) issued the
following statement today on the prison sentences of two defendants charged with more than $500,000 in fraud
involving a City-funded not-for-profit that served senior citizens in Upper Manhattan. KWAME INSAIDOO, the former
executive director of the United Block Association (“UBA”), was sentenced to 48 months in prison, and ROXANNA
INSAIDOO, to 30 months in prison for their roles in the scheme, stealing funds intended to provide services to
seniors, including providing meals, and using them to pay for personal expenses, including a mortgage on a home
and payments for a luxury sedan. U.S. District Judge Valerie Caproni imposed the sentence this afternoon in the
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. The office of Joon H. Kim, Acting United States Attorney for
the Southern District of New York, prosecuted the case.
At the time of their arrest last year, DOI issued a report on vulnerabilities and breakdowns in the City
Department for the Aging’s (“DFTA”) oversight of fiscal practices at not-for-profit organizations, and recommended
specific ways to improve fraud detection at the agency. At the time, DFTA agreed to implement all of the
recommended reforms. A copy of DOI’s Report can be found at the following link:
http://www1.nyc.gov/site/doi/newsroom/public-reports.page
Commissioner Mark G. Peters said, “The defendants’ greedy and callous actions of stealing from seniors
and City taxpayers will now be repaid with prison time. DOI thanks the Acting U.S. Attorney in the Southern District of
New York and his team for their partnership in this investigation.”
On May 2, 2017, after a one-week jury trial, KWAME INSAIDOO and ROXANNA INSAIDOO were
convicted of embezzlement, money laundering, and defrauding their mortgage lender. KWAME INSAIDOO was also
convicted of an additional count of wire fraud.
According to the investigation, INSAIDOO authorized transfers of thousands of dollars of City funds from
UBA’s accounts to himself, ROXANNA INSAIDOO, the couple’s son, and a shell corporation named Allied Home
Care, which was controlled by KWAME and ROXANNA INSAIDOO. The funds were used to pay for personal items,
including a mortgage for a Long Island home, a vehicle, and personal utilities
DOI Commissioner Peters thanked Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Joon H. Kim,
and DFTA Commissioner Donna M. Corrado, and their staffs, for their cooperation and assistance in this
investigation.
