COMMACK WOMAN PLEADS GUILTY TO EMBEZZLING MORE THAN $250K FROM SUMMER CAMP

(SUFFOLK COUNTY, N.Y.) – Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney today announced that Melanie I. Bergstedt, 47, pleaded guilty to Grand Larceny in the Second Degree for embezzling approximately $250,000 from a local summer camp during the course of her employment there.

“This defendant placed her own greed above the welfare of children by stealing money earmarked for a summer camp and pocketed it for her own personal use,” said District Attorney Tierney. “If you steal from local businesses, you are also harming the Suffolk County community at large. Accordingly, you will be held to account for your actions and legally forced to repay the money you stole.”

According to court documents and the defendant’s admissions during her guilty plea allocution, between 2016 and 2020, Bergstedt admitted she knowingly and intentionally stole money by diverting payments made by customers into other bank accounts during the course of her employment at the local summer camp, headquartered in Commack. The bank accounts were opened under similar names as the camp without the owner’s knowledge or permission in an effort to conceal the theft and to use those funds for her own personal benefit.

This case was heard before Supreme Court Justice, the Honorable John B. Collins. Bergstedt is required to pay restitution to the victim and if she does not, she faces up to three to 15 years in prison. She is due back in court for sentencing on May 8, 2023 and is being represented by Mary Hartill, Esq.

The District Attorney’s Office conducted this investigation in conjunction with the Suffolk County Police Department Financial Crimes Unit.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Jessica Lightstone of the Financial Crimes Bureau.

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Defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty. No one is above the law.

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