The defendants lied to investors primarily by making up false assets in the Town’s General Fund. The General Fund is the Town’s primary operating fund. The accumulated difference over time between how much money the Town receives in taxes and fees and how much it spends in a year is the General Fund’s balance.
In May 2013, the FBI searched Ramapo Town Hall in connection with this investigation. Less than 10 days later, ST. LAWRENCE inflated another receivable in the General Fund – this time for money from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (“FEMA”) to reimburse the Town for expenses from Hurricanes Irene and Sandy. ST.
Under state law, transfers between funds with different tax bases can only be loans. To justify the transfers, ST. LAWRENCE told the auditors, members of the Town Board, and others that the two funds had the same tax base. Finally, the Indictment alleges that ST.
Whether you are a publicly listed company or a municipality, you are not allowed to cook the books, plain and simple. And whether you are state legislator responsible for enacting laws or a municipal executive responsible for a town’s finances, you must be accountable.
Rockland County District Attorney Thomas Zugibe said: “As the Town of Ramapo Supervisor, Christopher St. Lawrence took an oath to honestly and faithfully serve his residents. But instead, St. Lawrence is accused of shamelessly exploiting his position for a personal agenda.