Cheon Park, Defrauding Education Programs, New York 2014
Defendant Cheon Park, a businessman from New York, was sentenced to 24 months in prison for defrauding education programs of over $2 million.
Park, who owned and operated Bilingual SEIT, a company that provided special education services to New York City children, had pleaded guilty to one count of mail fraud in March 2014. U.S. District Judge J. Paul Oetken imposed the sentence on March 28, 2014.
According to the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Preet Bharara, Park lined his pockets with millions of dollars meant to provide important services for special-needs children. Bharara stated, 'Today, he was made to pay for his crimes through federal prison time and restitution in the millions of dollars.'
Park's scheme involved inflating the amount of compensation Bilingual SEIT paid to certain employees and contractors and misrepresenting the type of work performed by certain employees on annual certified consolidated fiscal reports and financial statements submitted to the New York State Education Department and the New York City Department of Education.
Between 2005 and 2012, Bilingual SEIT received funding to provide special education services and preschool programs to New York City schoolchildren. During this period, the company claimed reimbursement for and received approximately $94.5 million in federal, New York State, and New York City funds.
The New York State Comptroller's office conducted an audit of Bilingual SEIT in 2011 and 2012, which concluded that nearly $1.5 million of the costs reported by the company should have been disallowed. Park was required to file a certification for the annual reports, which relied on the reports in determining the amount of public funds to pay Bilingual SEIT per student.
Key Facts
- State: New York
- Category: White Collar Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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