Student Taught NYU a Lesson re Alleged $409K Liquor-Store-Receipt Fraud
Using receipts fished out of a local liquor store’s garbage, a New York University employee allegedly submitted $409,000 in fraudulent expense reimbursement claims between 2003 and 2008.
John Runowicz has now pleaded not guilty in Manhattan Supreme Court to charges of grand larceny and falsifying business records, reports the New York Daily News.
The former chemistry department budget coordinator is accused of attaching the receipts—which listed the name of the liquor store—to invoices and submitting the material as petty cash reimbursement requests.
Those in charge of handling the reimbursements “checked the arithmetic,” says Pat Dugan, who serves as chief of investigations for the Manhattan district attorney’s office, and “he math was correct.”
The alleged fraud finally was discovered when a student became suspicious about the expense reports he had been asked to deliver to NYU, the newspaper reports.
Attorney Nick Mundy, who is representing Runowicz, asked that judgment be reserved until the case is resolved.
