A former accountant at a Queens nonprofit is accused of embezzling $750,000 and attempting to cover up the theft by having an accomplice throw acid on the organization’s executive director, according to a 65-count indictment unsealed Tuesday.
Kim Williams, 47, of the Bronx, is accused of stealing more than $600,000 from Hospital Audiences Inc., where she worked as an accountant between 2012 and 2015.
Williams also allegedly gave a close friend, 41-year-old Pia Louallen, an additional $150,000 during that time.
Hospital Audiences Inc., which is also known as Healing Arts Initiative, is a nonprofit in Queens that provides access to the arts for students and the less fortunate, the Queens district attorney’s office said.
Williams then conspired with 32-year-old Jerry Mohammed to cover up the thefts by assaulting the organization’s executive director, Rev. D. Alexandra Dyer, the DA’s office said.
On Aug. 19, 2015, Mohammed allegedly waited for Dyer to leave work and then threw acid on her, causing severe burns to her face and body that required multiple surgeries.
“This case is troubling on so many different levels. In an atmosphere of such giving, it is disheartening to see an individual allegedly use her position of fiduciary trust to siphon off tens of thousands of dollars in funds for the personal use of herself and another,” District Attorney Richard Brown said in a statement. “More disturbing, perhaps, is the same individual allegedly conspiring with another individual to intentionally seriously injure an innocent victim as part of a cover-up.”
Williams was arrested Monday night at a New Jersey rest stop by state troopers, the district attorney’s office said. She is charged with first-degree assault, fourth-degree conspiracy, fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon, second-degree grand larceny, identity theft and first-degree falsifying business records.
Louallen is facing second-degree grand larceny and fourth-degree conspiracy charges, and Mohammed is charged with first-degree assault, fourth-degree conspiracy and fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon.
If convicted, Williams and Mohammed could each face up to 25 years in prison, while Louallen could face up to 15 years.
