State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli's Weekly News - Number of New Yorkers Going Hungry Increases Despite Improving Economy

Number of New Yorkers Going Hungry

Increases Despite Improving Economy

Food insecurity increased in New York, with one-in-nine households unable to get enough food at some point during 2020 through 2022 because they lacked money or other resources, according to a follow-up analysis released by State Comptroller DiNapoli. His 2023 report found one-in-10 New York households experienced food insecurity in 2019 through 2021. Nationally, food insecurity increased for the first time in over a decade to 11.2% during 2020 through 2022.

“As the COVID pandemic ended, so did many of the enhanced federal benefits that helped struggling families put food on the table, and just as food and other household costs started to rise,” State Comptroller DiNapoli said. “These benefits drove down the number of households facing food insecurity and food insufficiency. Higher food costs and rising poverty rates leave far too many New York households with too little to eat. I urge the federal government to expand eligibility for nutrition assistance programs so we can make sure families throughout New York and America don’t go hungry.”

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State Comptroller DiNapoli Releases

Review of Elder Care Reports

State Comptroller DiNapoli released a report highlighting recent audits that examined whether the New York City and State programs that provide care and services to New York's seniors are effective and fulfilling their purpose. These audits demonstrate the importance of protecting the State’s older population and ensuring that the services and programs they need are being delivered appropriately and in a timely manner. 

“New York’s senior population is growing, but many of the elder care programs and systems that are meant to provide protection, care and assistance need improvement,” State Comptroller DiNapoli said. “My office’s audits identify ways to improve these programs and services to ensure that they are addressing the needs of New York’s seniors.”

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Queens Woman Charged With Stealing Nearly $85,000 in NYS Pension Payments Meant for Her Deceased Father

A 37-year-old Queens woman, Deanna Hansen, was arrested for allegedly stealing nearly $85,000 in New York State pension payments meant for her deceased father, State Comptroller DiNapoli announced.

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Binghamton Woman Sentenced for Stealing Deceased Father-In-Law's Pension Payments

State Comptroller DiNapoli and Broome County District Attorney F. Paul Battisti announced that Joy LaBarr, a 58-year-old Binghamton woman, was sentenced to pay full restitution of $32,000 and serve five years’ probation for stealing her deceased father-in-law's pension payments.

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Municipal & School Audits 

• Town of DeWitt – Planning and Zoning and Recreation Departments’ Collections
• Pembroke Central School District – Investment Program
• Pembroke Central School District – Extra-Classroom Activity Funds
• Ticonderoga Joint Town/Village Fire District – Board Oversight
• Village of Unadilla – Procurement

ALSO IN THE NEWS THIS WEEK

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• DiNapoli: 1-in-9 New York families face hunger
  
  
• Top New York official asks Best Buy about its commitment to LGBTQ groups after conservative pressure
  
  
• New York renewable energy projects take years to become operational, audit finds

Post of the Week
Tom DiNapoli @NYSComptroller 

 

Two Men Sentenced for Defrauding JetBlue

 

In federal court in Brooklyn, Julien Levy and Keily Nunez were sentenced by United States District Judge Pamela K. Chen to 20 and 40 months in prison, respectively, for defrauding JetBlue Airways of approximately $10 million.  Levy and Nunez pleaded guilty to committing honest services wire fraud in June and July 2023, respectively.    

Breon Peace, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, and Ivan J. Arvelo, Special Agent-in-Charge, Homeland Security Investigations, announced the sentence. 

“These defendants shamelessly lined their own pockets by diverting millions of dollars in airline part contracts to entities they controlled,” stated United States Attorney Peace.  “This sentence sends a clear message that those who betray the trust of their employers by disrupting marketplaces for their own personal gain will be held to account.”

Mr. Peace thanked Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation for their assistance with the investigation. 

“The defendants abused their positions of power to orchestrate a scheme that defrauded JetBlue Airways out of millions of dollars. Levy and Nunez went as far as manipulating the identity of a deceased airline employee to circumvent the company’s policies and procedures with the sole intention of enriching themselves. Today they face the consequences of their unbound greed," said HSI New York Special Agent in Charge Ivan J. Arvelo. "I commend HSI New York and our law enforcement and private sector partners for stemming this corruption before it ultimately impacted well-meaning customers.”

Between approximately July 2017 and June 2021, Nunez and another JetBlue employee accepted bribes from Levy in exchange for approving more than $1.5 million in aircraft part invoices between JetBlue and Levy’s company, Summit Aviation Supply LLC.  Nunez also accepted bribes in connection with his approval of more than $8.5 million in aircraft part invoices between JetBlue and Alaris Aerospace Systems LLC, a Florida-based aircraft parts seller a co-conspirator controlled.  Nunez was previously sentenced to two years’ imprisonment in connection with this role in a separate scheme to defraud the United States Small Business Administration’s Economic Injury Disaster Loan program of approximately $1.5 million through the submission of false loan applications. 

Statement from Speaker Adams on Requesting an Official NYPD Inspector General Investigation of NYPD’s Social Media Policies, Practices, and Operations

 

On Friday, New York City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams requested that the Department of Investigation’s Office of the Inspector General for the NYPD conduct an official investigation and review of the NYPD’s policies, practices, and operations on their use of social media, pursuant to Local Law 70 of 2013. The NYPD’s recent use official social media accounts have targeted public officials and members of the public in ways that can be construed as intimidating, dangerous, and veering into political activity, in conflict with City laws and policies. After submitting the request, Speaker Adams released the following statement:

“The recent deployment of official NYPD social media accounts to aggressively target public officials and civilians in our city, use dog whistles that can lead to threats and violence, and convey inaccurate information, is dangerous, unethical and unprofessional. New Yorkers rely on agency officials to provide essential information, and these latest activities diverge from the department’s core mission and responsibilities. This recent behavior undermines public confidence in the department at a time when public safety requires stronger trust, and sends a bad message to the rank-and-file officers of our city simply wanting to perform their basic duties. In addition to supporting the investigation of NYPD Chief of Patrol’s Chell’s posts for violating city laws that prohibit the use of city resources for political purposes, I have requested that the Department of Investigation’s Office of the Inspector General for the NYPD urgently conduct an official investigation and review that produces a subsequent report on the NYPD’s policies, practices, and operations related to its use of social media.”

Bronx Man Sentenced To 12 Years In Prison For Shooting

 

Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that JOSEPH ORENGO JR. was sentenced to 12 years in prison for a shooting on September 7, 2021, on a residential street in the Bronx and conspiracy to distribute narcotics, including fentanyl.  ORENGO previously pled guilty before U.S. District Judge Vincent L. Briccetti, who imposed the sentence. 

U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said: “This Office has been steadfast in its commitment to ending the scourge of gun violence on the streets of New York City. The defendant chose to fire multiple rounds on a residential street in the Bronx in broad daylight.  He put the safety of New Yorkers at risk and terrorized a public space.  This sentence sends a clear message: this must stop.  If you fire a gun on the streets of New York City as part of drug dealing, you will go to prison.” 

According to statements made in public court proceedings and filings and a video of the attempted shooting:

On September 7, 2021, ORENGO confronted a man on a residential street in the Bronx over a disputed drug debt.  As that man drove away, ORENGO fired two shots at him:

The shooting occurred at approximately 11:35 a.m., as bystanders were walking down the block.

In addition to his prison term, ORENGO, 29, of Bronx, New York, was sentenced to five years of supervised release.

Mr. Williams praised the outstanding investigative work of Homeland Security Investigations and the New York City Police Department.

BTC-e Operator Pleads Guilty to Money Laundering Conspiracy

 

Exchange Moved Over $9B Worth of Transactions; Defendant Caused Criminal Losses in Excess of $100M

A Russian national pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering related to his role in operating the cryptocurrency exchange BTC-e from 2011 to 2017.

According to court documents, Alexander Vinnik, 44, was one of the operators of BTC-e, which was one of the world’s largest virtual currency exchanges. From its inception in or around 2011 until it was shut down by law enforcement in or around July 2017 contemporaneous with Vinnik’s arrest, BTC-e processed over $9 billion-worth of transactions and served over one million users worldwide, including numerous customers in the United States.

“This result shows how the Justice Department, working with international partners, reaches across the globe to combat cryptocrime,” said Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco. “This guilty plea reflects the Department’s ongoing commitment to use all tools to fight money laundering, police crypto markets, and recover restitution for victims.”

BTC-e was one of the primary ways by which cyber criminals around the world transferred, laundered, and stored the criminal proceeds of their illegal activities. BTC-e received criminal proceeds of numerous computer intrusions and hacking incidents, ransomware attacks, identity theft schemes, corrupt public officials, and narcotics distribution rings. Vinnik operated BTC-e with the intent to promote these unlawful activities and was responsible for a loss amount of at least $121 million.

Despite doing substantial business in the United States, BTC-e was not registered as a money services business with the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), as federal law requires. BTC-e had no anti-money laundering (AML) and/or “know-your-customer” (KYC) processes and policies in place, as federal law also requires. BTC-e collected virtually no customer data at all, which made the exchange attractive to those who desired to conceal criminal proceeds from law enforcement.

BTC-e relied on shell companies and affiliate entities that were similarly unregistered with FinCEN and lacked basic anti-money laundering and KYC policies to electronically transfer fiat currency in and out of BTC-e. Vinnik set up numerous such shell companies and financial accounts across the globe to allow BTC-e to conduct its business. 

A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

In 2017, FinCEN announced that it assessed an approximately $110 million civil money penalty against BTC-e for willfully violating U.S. AML laws, and a $12 million civil penalty against Vinnik for his role in the violations.

The FBI; IRS Criminal Investigation’s Cyber Crime Unit and Oakland Field Office; U.S. Secret Service Criminal Investigative Division; and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) are investigating the case. The lengthy investigation was supported by numerous former prosecutors and investigators from multiple agencies.

The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs provided valuable assistance in securing the extradition of Vinnik. The Justice Department thanks the Government of Greece for its cooperation in securing Vinnik’s transfer to the United States.