Hudson’s Hoboken hustler hoodwinked holy havens, helping hands & halls of learning

A Hudson County, New Jersey, woman was sentenced this week to 60 months in prison for stealing over $1.5 million from over 100 victims made up mainly of non-profits, private schools, and religious institutions throughout New Jersey.

Yezenia Castillo, 47, of Hoboken, New Jersey, previously pleaded guilty before U.S District Judge Susan D. Wigenton, to an information charging her with one count each of wire fraud and tax evasion. Judge Wigenton imposed the sentence Thursday, March 21, 2024, in Newark federal court.

Castillo admitted to stealing more than $1.5 million from non-profits, private schools, and religious institutions throughout New Jersey by pretending to be an accountant.

According to New Jersey U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger, documents filed in this case and statements made in court, Castillo falsely claimed to be a CPA who could provide various financial and accounting services to non-profit organizations throughout New Jersey, including private schools and religious institutions, from 2012 through 2021.

Castillo was not a CPA and never provided any of these promised services.

After she was hired, Castillo used various ways to steal from her clients, including collecting fees for services that she never performed and transferring client funds to herself without authorization.

Castillo also collected funds from clients by falsely claiming she would use it to pay their taxes, but she instead kept the money.

To conceal her fraud, Castillo told victims that she had filed and paid their taxes, and she falsified receipts to make it appear to the victims as if their taxes were paid.

Castillo defrauded more than 100 victims, resulting in financial losses totaling over $1.5 million.

In addition to the prison term, Judge Wigenton sentenced Castillo to three years of supervised release and ordered restitution of $3.25 million and forfeiture of $3.25 million.