Woman Accused of Stealing from Port Washington Nonprofit

A woman stole more than $200,000 from a women’s apparel company where she was employed as a personal assistant and bookkeeper, as well as from a Port Washington-based autism awareness foundation run by her boss’ wife, Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice said.

Now Pamela Efraimov, 39, of New Hyde Park, faces grand larceny and other charges after she was arrested Tuesday by Nassau County DA investigators.  

According to Rice, Efraimov had worked as the personal assistant and bookkeeper to the president and owner of Katherine Bishop, a women’s apparel wholesaler from 2005-20012. But after her boss died in June 2010, his widow retained Efraimov so she could close out the business. The widow also retained Efraimov for the bookkeeping for The Nicholas Center for Autism and Spectrum Designs Foundation, the Port Washington nonprofit founded by the widow.

By September 2012, the widow noticed some irregularities with the foundation’s cash deposits, and that check deposits for the apparel company were bouncing, according to the DA’s office. After asking Efraimov about the irregularities, the widow fired her. An audit revealed that Efraimov had told the bank to “stop sending paper statements,” and that she had “altered 64 checks” from January 2011-September 2012 to conceal that she had written more than $150,000 in checks to herself, officials said.

The audit also showed that Efraimov had made unauthorized transfers worth more than $10,000 from the Katherine Bishop account to her personal bank account, forged the widow’s signature on 73 checks for more than $45,000 to Efraimov, and made online payments for her personal credit cards through the Katherine Bishop account. The money was used to buy designer accessories, officials added.

“Violating the trust of her employer is bad enough, but it is particularly appalling that this defendant victimized a grieving widow and a non-profit organization dedicated to helping children with special needs,” Rice said, in a statement.

Efraimov was charged with grand larceny in the second degree, criminal possession of a forged instrument in the second degree, and falsifying business records in the first degree.

If convicted, Efraimov faces up to 15 years in prison. She is to be arraigned in First District Court in Hempstead.

Her attorney, Robert Gallo, could not be immediately reached for comment.