A Commack woman has pleaded guilty to embezzling more than $250,000 from the summer camp where she worked, Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney said Wednesday.
Melanie Bergstedt, 47, pleaded guilty to committing second-degree grand larceny by taking money from Iroquois Springs summer camp, headquartered in Commack.
“This defendant placed her own greed above the welfare of children by stealing money earmarked for a summer camp and pocketed it for her own personal use,” Tierney said. “If you steal from local businesses, you are also harming the Suffolk County community at large. Accordingly, you will be held to account for your actions and legally forced to repay the money you stole.”
According to court documents and the defendant’s admissions during her guilty plea allocution, between 2016 and 2020, Bergstedt admitted she stole money by
diverting payments made by customers into other bank accounts. The bank accounts were opened under similar names as the camp without the owner’s knowledge or permission in an effort to conceal the theft and to use those funds for her own personal benefit, Tierney said.
Bergstedt is required to pay restitution to the victim and if she does not, she faces up to three to 15 years in prison. She is due back in court for sentencing on May 8, and is being represented by Mary Hartill.