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Woman charged with stealing from Springfield Gardens school to pay credit cards: DA

SPRINGFIELD GARDENS — A Long Island woman was charged with skimming nearly half a million dollars, which she allegedly used to pay off her credit cards, from the books of a school for students with special needs, the Queens district attorney said.

Donna Joyce, a former bookkeeper at the Martin De Porres School, was charged with embezzling more than $485,000 from the institution, District Attorney Richard Brown said last week.

The 53-year-old bookkeeper, of Farmingdale, L.I., allegedly made phony entries in the school’s records from 2007-12 and used the cash to pay off personal accounts such as her Macy’s, American Express and Citibank cards, Brown said.

The school, which moved from Springfield Gardens to Elmont, L.I., in 2012, tipped off the authorities, the DA said.

Joyce faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted on the larceny and falsifying records charges, Brown said.