David Ostrove, the former CFO of the Schechter School, a private Jewish school on Long Island who was found guilty last month for first-degree grand larceny and first-degree money laundering, was sentenced in Suffolk County court this week. He will spend up to 25 years in prison, with a minimum of eight years and four months.
Ostrove was also ordered to pay restitution in the case of over $8.4 million, the same figure he was found guilty of stealing throughout his 11-year tenure there.
As Ostrove noted in his brief testimony to the court during sentencing, he will appeal.
According to prosecutors, Ostrove made a total of 786 transfers from business accounts he established in the name of Schechter School to his own accounts via PayPal and Stripe. Purchases included vacation homes, multiple luxury vehicles, his kid’s college tuition, collectibles, vacations, and more.
The school he stole from is funded mostly through tuition payments and charitable gifts and is relatively small — with a total student body of approximately 250 students from kindergarten through 12th grade. The student-teacher ratio at the school, according to their website, is 5:1.
Ostrove was referred to as “a charlatan and a brazen thief” by State Supreme Court Justice John Collins.
Those who dealt with Ostrove professionally noted his questionable ethics in their dealings with him. Steven Bertolino, a Long Island real estate attorney who defended Brian Laundrie and his family during the viral murder investigation of Gabby Petito, spoke to Fox about his dealings with Ostrove.
"When he purchased the Fire Island property, I wound up throwing him out of my office because he was so obtuse and abusive," Bertolino told Fox. "It was COVID, and some of the people involved swore up and down how he was such a great guy. Of course, I said he wasn’t, and it’s nice to be right.”
