Long Island man stole $8.4M from private school, bought 5 houses, cars

SUFFOLK COUNTY, N.Y. (PIX11) — A former Long Island executive was sentenced to 8 to 25 years in prison for stealing $8.4 million from a private school.

A jury found David Ostrove, 52, guilty of grand larceny and money laundering, on Wednesday after stealing millions from the Schechter School of Long Island while serving as the school’s chief financial and technology officer.

Ostrove, while working at the school for 11 years transferred school funds into his accounts between March 2014 and April 2022, court documents reveal. Ostrove purchased a 1965 Mustang, a Lincoln Aviator, and a Mercedes Benz with the stolen funds.

He also bought five beach homes on Fire Island and paid $1.4 million worth of renovations on the beach homes, while collecting $600,000 of rental income from them. Additionally, Ostrove used the fund to pay his daughter’s college tuition, cover personal travel expenses, make payments on his home equity loan and purchase collectible coins, court officials said.

Justice Collins also ordered Ostrove to pay for the full $8.4 million in restitution.

“This sentence sends a clear message that we take white collar crime extremely seriously here in Suffolk County,” said District Attorney Raymond Tierney. “We are satisfied that with both the verdict and sentence that justice has been attained for all of the students, staff, and the community at the Schechter School.”

Charline Charles is a digital journalist from Brooklyn who has covered local news along with culture and arts in the New York City area since 2019. She joined PIX11 News in 2022. See more of her work here .

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