Pre-School Head Who Stole Millions From Special Ed Funds Jailed

FAR ROCKAWAY, QUEENS -- The former head to one of the largest special education preschools in New York City is now behind bars for helping steal millions of dollars meant for the disabled children he once oversaw.

Ira Kurmen, 55, of Long Island, was one of four people who took $8 million in city funds meant for kids at the now-defunct Island Child Development Center in Queens, which once offered special education services to pre-school children of Far Rockaway's Orthodox Jewish communities along with those in Williamsburg and Borough Park, Brooklyn, said Queens District Attorney Richard Brown.

Kurman, who used to run the center as its executive director, pleaded guilty in December to helping take the money from $27 million received in state funding between 2005 and 2012.

He and the other three defendants - including a Rabbi from Far Rockaway - sent the money to relatives, invested it in a for-profit business and used it to for personal expenses like jewelry, home renovations and a family wedding, Brown said.

"Those who would victimize children for their own personal gain will be brought to justice and held accountable for their actions," Brown said.

The thefts were discovered after New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli told Kurmen he planned to conduct a routine audit of city funds the center received for Special Education Itinerant Teachers from the Department of Education.

When state auditors arrived for the meeting in July 2012, they were told Kurmen had quit his job at the center and taken his books and records with him, DiNapoli said.

"Our joint work resulted in a recovery of $8 million that was stolen from special education funds," DiNapoli said.

Kurmen was the last of his codefendants to be sentenced for the crimes. He was sentenced in Queens Supreme Court on Tuesday to six months in prison followed by five years' probation, and ordered to pay $650,000 in restitution to the city's Department of Education.

Lead photo via Shutterstock.