A Queens man who managed private parking lots at the Westchester Medical Center in Valhalla admitted today that he bilked his employer out of more than $75,000 over a two-year period.
James Lozada, 36, pleaded guilty at his arraignment in Westchester County court to a reduced felony charge of third-degree grand larceny. He was ordered to pay $75,860 in restitution and remains free on $50,000 bail.
How much, if any, time Lozada serves behind bars will depend (as it usually does) on how much he can pay back before his sentencing on April 9. If he pays back the full amount, he will serve five years of probation with no jail time. If he pays back half of it, he will serve five years’ probation with four months of weekends in jail. If he pays back nothing, he goes to state prison for 1 to 3 years.
He was facing up to seven years in state prison had he been convicted at trial of third-degree grand larceny, and up to 15 years wif convicted of second-degree grand larceny, the original charge.
Lozada, an ex-regional manager for Healthcare Parking Systems of America, started submitting phony payroll information in February 2009, according to the Westchester County District Attorney’s office. He used the names of past employees to get the company to cut fradulent paychecks, and then deposited the checks into his own bank account, as well as the account of his girlfriend.
His attorney, Raymond Cash, declined to comment without his client’s approval.
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