Amid Charges Of Fraud, ABC Little Star Daycare Closes
A popular Bensonhurst daycare was shut down this month, following a investigation which found that the owner had submitted a number of fake documents.
In September, Elena Kaplan, 54, the owner of ABC Little Star Daycare (2345 85th Street), was arrested and indicted on multiple charges of forgery, and she agreed to divest from the childcare center before January 1, 2015.
When health inspectors visited the site, they say Kaplan presented them with a forged teaching certificates that allowed her to be the daycare’s educational director, two fake master’s degrees for teachers, and a fraudulent fingerprint-based criminal background check. When agents searched the property, they also found phony certificates demonstrating that staff had received training to identify child abuse, when in fact, they had not.ABC Little Star was among nine daycares in Brooklyn and Staten Island to be investigated by the city’s health department in the fall, with three centers shut down immediately for serious safety and health violations. The city agreed to let Kaplan to keep ABC Little Star open until the end of the year, but it would remain closely monitored by officials.The person with the fake background check was also employed under a fake name and disappeared after the investigation, reported the New York Daily News.
“Steal from the city, lie to us about our citizens’ safety, and we will deal with you severely,” said Mark Peters, commissioner of the Department of Investigation, at the time.
The case against Kaplan, who is out on bail, is still pending and has been adjourned until February 4, prosecutors said.
None of the shuttered daycare centers were part of Mayor Bill de Blasio’s pre-Kindergarten program.
Update (January 15, 11am): A woman who answered the phone at the daycare, Galina Boichuk, told us that Kaplan is meeting with the health department today to try to resolve some of the issues. We will update you as we know more.