Photo Courtesy of Google
Between January 2015 and June 2019, Flores allegedly diverted 103 checks in various amounts by making them payable to cash, endorsing the back of the checks, and then either depositing them into her own bank accounts or cashing them out at a Chase bank branch in Queens.
By Forum Staff
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz on Thursday announced that Ondina Flores, a trusted housekeeper for an elderly couple, has been indicted by a borough grand jury for allegedly embezzling more than $72,000 from her employers’ bank accounts over a period of four years.
Flores, 52, of Richmond Hill, was arraigned last week on a 105-count indictment charging her with grand larceny in the second degree, criminal possession of stolen property in the second degree, and criminal possession of a forged instrument in the second degree. She has been ordered to return to court on Sept. 29.
Katz said that, according to the charges, for more than 15 years Flores was a housekeeper for an elderly couple. After the death of the husband, the couple’s son continued to have the defendant clean his deteriorating mother’s home and had her assist with paying some of the recurring bills. Having the power of attorney for his mother, the son regularly signed checks against his parent’s bank accounts and gave them to the defendant to fill in the payee and the amount of the bills.
Photo Courtesy of DA Katz
“The defendant was a long-time employee, entrusted to not only clean the home of her employer but to also help pay the bills following the death of the elderly woman’s husband. She betrayed that trust and allegedly began embezzling money instead of paying the bills,” DA Katz said.
After the son’s mother died, said the DA, the victim then hired Flores to be a housekeeper at his own home in Queens. But one day, the son and his wife observed Flores on video surveillance allegedly rummaging through their personal papers in an unauthorized location inside their home. They also caught her allegedly disconnecting the wires to cut the video feed. This prompted the son to review bank statements of his mother’s bank accounts, which revealed that the defendant had allegedly been stealing from the mother’s bank accounts by writing numerous checks payable to cash.
A joint investigation conducted by the Queens DA’s Office and the NYPD concluded that between
January 2015 and June 2019, Flores allegedly diverted 103 checks in various amounts by making them payable to cash, endorsing the back of the checks, and then either depositing them into her own bank accounts or cashing them out at a Chase bank branch in Queens. In that period, Flores is accused of stealing more than $72,000 from her employer’s bank accounts.
“The defendant was a long-time employee, entrusted to not only clean the home of her employer but to also help pay the bills following the death of the elderly woman’s husband. She betrayed that trust and allegedly began embezzling money instead of paying the bills,” Katz said. “In custody, the defendant now faces very serious charges.”
If convicted, Flores faces up to 15 years in prison.
