The president of a Queens autism charity has pleaded guilty to defrauding vendors by writing thousands of dollars in bad checks, including to the Adventureland amusement park in Farmingdale, Suffolk prosecutors said Monday.
Gregory Vasicek, 60, president of the Queens nonprofit Play4Autism, which provides team sports programs for children with autism, pleaded guilty before Acting Supreme Court Justice Richard I. Horowitz of one count of first-degree scheme to defraud.
In pleading guilty, he admitted promising to pay several vendors thousands of dollars for goods and services he never paid for, prosecutors said.
He was initially charged in November with three counts of grand larceny, scheme to defraud, theft of services and petty theft, prosecutors said.
“This defendant took advantage of the goodwill of Suffolk County residents and business owners under the guise of helping autistic children to benefit,” said Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney . “My office will continue to hold accountable all those who manipulate, steal and violate the public trust.”
Between April 21 and May 2, 2022, Vasicek wrote checks from his charity’s bank account while he knew the account had insufficient funds and never paid the vendors despite multiple attempts by the victims to the payment, according to prosecutors and the statement the defendant made when he pleaded guilty.
Vasicek also fraudulently solicited and received hundreds of dollars in donor registration fees for a golf outing he claimed was scheduled for Oct. 19 at a Manorville golf course. But the output was never scheduled for that location.
He is due back in court for sentencing on July 6. Vasicek is represented by the Legal Aid Society of Suffolk County, which does not comment to the media.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Stuart P. Levy of the Public Corruption Bureau.
The Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office is asking anyone who suspects they may have been defrauded by Vasicek or his charity to contact the District Attorney’s Office at (631) 853-4626 .
Nicole Fuller is Newsday’s senior criminal justice reporter. He started working at Newsday in 2012 and previously covered local government.
