On March 12, 2024, David Ostrove of West Islip, now 52 years of age, was found guilty on the charges of grand larceny and money laundering, as well as stealing over $8.4 million dollars from the Nassau County Jewish day school, Schechter School of Long Island, based in Williston Park.
The jury reached their verdict in less than four hours of deliberation following a three-week long trial and 20 months after the indictment leading to his arrest. Now the convicted embezzler presently waits in custody for his sentencing date scheduled for April 17.
“While David Ostrove was entrusted to manage this money to benefit the children of the Schechter School, he was secretly lining his own pockets,” reads the statement released by Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond Tierney’s office. “The jury here concluded that the defendant’s lavish lifestyle was funded using the tuition dollars of the hardworking parents of the Schechter School students and, thankfully, the jury held him accountable.”
What the statement does not address is what will be the destiny of the ill-gotten gains that are part of the ‘lavish lifestyle’ that Tierney alludes to – the fancy cars, rare and historic memorabilia, as well as the now-notorious houses located on Fire Island.
The criminal complaint cites five properties in Ocean Beach that Ostrove, purchased through shell corporations, then making significant upgrades to with additional funds he siphoned during the years he was employed at Schechter School. With vacation rentals in high demand on Fire Island, he generated $600,00 in revenue from four of those houses. The fifth property was still under construction when Ostrove was arrested in July of 2022, so a certificate of occupancy has never been obtained for it according to sources at Ocean Beach Village Hall.
“The properties will be available for rent for the entire 2024 season,” wrote Netter Beach Estates agent Robin Citriniti in a text message to our publication. “The Ostrove situation is in the hands of the District Attorney of Suffolk County. We have been asked not to discuss anything about the properties other than offer them for rent.”
Our inquiries for comment with the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office did not return our calls for comment. However, this publication learned that Netter Real Estate/ Netter Beach Estates was retained by the Suffolk County District Attorney’s office to manage the Ostrove properties, with the income earned from the rentals to be held in escrow until further notice. Meanwhile, according to Newsday, Ostrove’s defense attorney has already signaled that a motion to appeal is underway:
“The Court is going to give us an opportunity to move to set aside the verdict, so we intend to avail ourselves of that opportunity, basically arguing to the court that there was legally insufficient evidence to sustain the verdict.”
Schechter School has filed a separatee civil suit against Ostrove seeking over $35-million in restitution and punitive damages. Also moving on is the Incorporated Village of Ocean Beach, who auctioned-off outstanding tax liens for three out of the five properties to successful bidders earlier this month. All bidders were advised that the legally encumbered properties remain under Suffolk County’s control, but the bidders still moved forward, confident they were making a sound investment.
