Church Treasurer Pleads Guilty to Stealing $35,608 From Church: DA

A former acting treasurer for an East Meadow church pleaded guilty to stealing more than $35,000 between May 2014 and May 2015, according to Nassau County District Attorney Madeline Singas.

Ronald Ousman, 38, of Bayside, pleaded guilty before Nassau County District Court Judge Eric Bjorneby, to petty larceny and will make full restitution, according to the DA.

He is due back in court on March 30 for sentencing.

Ousman’s attorney is currently holding $20,000 in restitution money in escrow and any amount still due following the sentence will be paid through the Department of Probation.

In addition, he is expected to receive three years of probation and 210 hours of community service.

“The defendant was given access to the church’s finances because he was a trusted member of the community, but he abused that trust and stole more than $35,000 from the congregation through a series of cash withdrawals that lasted almost a year,” Singas said. “Thankfully church officials noticed the discrepancies and contacted our office and we were able to get the money back for this faith community.”

Ousman allegedly stole $35,608 from Holy Trinity Orthodox Church, located at 369 Green Avenue, from May 16, 2014 until May 7, 2015.

He made a series of cash withdrawals from the church’s checking and money market accounts, Singas said.

The investigation began when church officials contacted the Internal Revenue Service to verify certain tax information and were told that certain payments were never received, Singas said.