New York Attorney General Letitia James announced the arrest and arraignment of Takisha Rainey, a 46-year-old resident of Carle Place in Nassau County, for allegedly using a forged New York State tax refund check to steal $25,000. The Office of the Attorney General (OAG) and the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance (DTF) conducted an investigation that found Rainey deposited a fraudulent $41,236 state tax refund check into her Navy Federal Credit Union account in August 2023. Two days after the deposit, she withdrew $25,000 in cash from the account.
According to officials, Rainey was charged with three felony counts: possessing and depositing a forged instrument and withdrawing stolen funds. The charges are part of an ongoing investigation into similar fraud schemes.
Attorney General James stated, “This fraudulent scheme stole from New York taxpayers and deprived the state of resources used to provide health care, education, and other critical services. I will not tolerate any attempt to steal from our state. My office will continue to investigate this fraud scheme to hold all those who participated accountable.”
DTF Executive Deputy Commissioner Michael Shollar added, “Individuals who try to steal tax refunds from honest New Yorkers must be held accountable. I commend the dedicated work of our NYS Tax Investigators, and thank Attorney General James and her office for their diligent efforts in bringing tax criminals to justice.”
The investigation detailed that on August 15, 2023, Rainey deposited the fraudulent check into her account. On August 17, she made two separate cash withdrawals totaling $25,000 at a Navy Federal Credit Union branch located at the United States Merchant Marine Academy. Surveillance footage captured by OAG showed Rainey making these withdrawals. After identifying the check as fraudulent, Navy Federal Credit Union debited Rainey’s account for the full amount.
Rainey was arraigned before Nassau County Supreme Court Judge Terence Murphy on charges including Criminal Possession of a Forged Instrument in the First Degree, Grand Larceny in the Third Degree, and Criminal Possession of Stolen Property in the Third Degree. If convicted on all counts, she faces up to 15 years in prison. Authorities emphasized that an indictment is only an accusation and that Rainey is presumed innocent until proven guilty.
The ongoing case is being handled by DTF’s Internal Affairs Unit along with OAG investigators. Key contributors include DTF Criminal Investigator Jemayel Mall; Director of Internal Affairs Brian Hickey; acting DTF Commissioner Amanda Hiller; Detective Jordan Harrington under Assistant Chief Samuel Scotellaro; Major Investigations Unit Chief Juanita Bright; Chief Oliver Pu-Folkes; Public Integrity Bureau Assistant Attorneys General Daniel P. Hughes and Benjamin M. Mastaitis; Bureau Chief Gerard Murphy; former Deputy Bureau Chief Kiran Heer; Division for Criminal Justice Chief Deputy Attorney General José Maldonado; and First Deputy Attorney General Jennifer Levy.
