Former New York Supreme Court Judge Receives 15-Month Jail Sentence For Obstruction In Financial Fraud Case – Opinion

A former New York Supreme Court judge has been sentenced 15 months for obstruction of an investigation by the federal government into financial fraud.

According to The Associate Press, Sylvia Ash has been convicted of multiple criminal charges in connection with the investigation into financial fraud at the Municipal Credit Union.

Sylvia Ash (64), an ex-State Supreme Court Justice, was sentenced in Manhattan by Judge Lewis A. Kaplan. She had been convicted in December on conspiracy, obstruction, and making a false statement in a Federal Agent’s investigation into the Municipal Credit Union.

The sentencing judge called Ash’s actions “dishonest, corrupt and frankly outrageous.”

Credit unions are a non-profit financial institution with an office in New York City and more than $4.2 billion of accounts. It provides banking services to nearly 500,000 members.

Authorities said the financial crimes occurred while Ash, a Brooklyn judge, was on the credit union’s board of directors from May 2008 to August 2016, when she resigned. She had served as the board’s chair from May 2015 until her resignation.

Ash is accused (and now convicted) of covering up the financial misdeeds of the credit union’s former CEO during her tenure as the board president. She was also given numerous kickbacks including financial reimbursements worth tens or thousands of dollars for hotel and airfare purchases. The credit union paid her bills, including phone and cable, as well as annual birthday parties at the local minor league baseball field. Ash is a New York state judge and was required by law to report any gifts or benefits. She reported none from 2012 through 2018.

It is deep. This story is not representative of an American problem larger than it may seem. No wonder our faith in the political system is so low.