Getty Images/Spencer Platt
A former director of finance at New York University pleaded guilty Monday to charges she defrauded the university out of $3.4 million that was meant to fund businesses in the city owned by women and minority groups.
Cindy Tappe, 57, struck a plea deal with prosecutors Monday that will allow her to avoid time behind bars, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg announced. Instead, she’ll be forced to pay back $663,209 in restitution and spend five years on probation.
Tappe will be formally sentenced on April 16. Had she been convicted at trial, she faced up to 25 years in a New York state prison.