NYC ACS worker forged poor kids’ signatures to pocket nearly $5K in gift cards: prosecutors
NY Post
A disgraced bigwig at the city Administration for Children’s Services stole thousands of dollars in gift cards from disadvantaged kids — by forging their signatures to fuel her lavish lifestyle, Manhattan prosecutors alleged Tuesday.
Courtney Ramirez, who served as an executive director at ACS, was arrested Tuesday morning and charged with grand larceny in the third degree, a felony, after allegedly pocketing $4,900 in gift cards from programs she oversaw while at the agency.
Ramirez, 51, was earning $111,474 in her cushy role as the Administrative Director of Social Services in 2023, according to public records.
She was tasked with distributing Visa gift cards — each valued at $350 — to youths participating in the agency’s leadership development program, prosecutors alleged.
But instead of helping the poor kids, Ramirez allegedly kept the gift cards for herself and used them to pay for personal expenses or to purchase gifts for others, according to the criminal complaint.
She carried out the scheme by forging the signatures of the needy children on paperwork to make it appear as if they were the ones receiving the gift cards, prosecutors said.
