California Woman Indicted After Accusations Of $3.5M Theft From Hempstead Schools, DA Says

MINEOLA, NY — A 66-year-old woman was indicted Thursday on grand larceny charges after prosecutors say she made six-figure withdrawals from a bank account that had wrongfully been wired $3.5 million by a Nassau County School district.

Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly said 66-year-old Escondido, CA resident Donna Eckert was wrongfully wired about $3.5 million in January of 2024 after a forged email was sent — under the name of a public charter school's finance director — to Hempstead Union Free School District, requesting that the district send funds to a new bank account under the name “DME Unlimited.”

The district, believing the email to be legitimate, wired the $3.5 million on Jan. 31, 2024, prosecutors said. The account, prosecutors said, actually belonged to Eckert.

On Feb. 2, 2024, two days after the transfer, Eckert was seen on surveillance footage in an Escondido bank picking up cash from a teller, prosecutors said. Bank records from the time, the prosecution says, show $25,000 being withdrawn from the DME account that day. Later that day, Eckert was seen on surveillance footage at a different bank in San Marcos haanding cash to a teller, prosecutors said. That bank’s record, the prosecutors said, show $25,000 being deposited into her personal account that day.

Three days later, on Feb. 5, 2024, prosecutors say Eckert did the same rounds, withdrawing $313,000 at the bank in Escondido and dropping off a cashier’s check for the same amount at the bank in San Marcos.

On Feb. 14, 2024, prosecutors say the school's IT department found that the finance director's email had been hacked and that the forged email requesting money transfer had been sent.

When reached for comment Thursday, Eckert’s attorney, James Polk, said his client had no prior criminal record and called the process “jarring” for her.

“Ms. Eckert is 66 years old. She has never been arrested, has absolutely no criminal record. So this whole thing has been pretty jarring for her,” Polk said. “Right now we’re reviewing all of the DA’s evidence, and looking forward to coming to a resolution that’s both favorable for her and Nassau County.”

From Donnelly’s point of view, however, Eckert had been “siphoning away” valuable resources that could have gone to a school district.

“This defendant made no attempts to return the millions of dollars that were wrongfully transferred into an account she controlled,” Donnelly said. “Instead, she made multiple cash withdrawals for her own personal use, siphoning away educational resources meant for our students. This case highlights how easily a compromised email account can go undetected. The best defense to protect yourself and your business is by confirming any change in payment information via a direct phone call to a known, trusted contact.”

The total amount withdrawn adds up to $338,000, prosecutors said. Eckert was arrested by Escondido PD Mar. 10 and extradited to New York Apr. 1, prosecutors said. She pleaded not guilty Thursday and is due back in court Apr. 21, prosecutors said, and could face up to 25 years in prison if convicted.