You’ve seen the show. This is the real defense.

Netflix’s Inventing Anna dramatized Todd Spodek’s defense of Anna Delvey - the “fake heiress” who captivated New York. Todd is portrayed by an actor from Succession; the strategy on screen is the strategy he argued in the real courtroom.

“Just like a famous crooner had to do it his way, Anna had to do it her way.”

Todd’s opening statement · The Sorokin trial, 2019

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https://nypost.com/2024/03/12/us-news/exec-at-prestigious-li-school-convicted-of-stealing-8m-for-five-fire-island-getaways-limos-and-a-muscle-car/

A bigwig at a prestigious Long Island school was convicted Tuesday of pocketing more than $8 million from its coffers and using the dough to splurge on five beach houses on Fire Island, limo rides and a classic muscle car.

A 52-year-old former chief financial officer and technical officer at the Schechter School of Long Island raided the private K-12 academy’s bank account for nearly 10 years before getting nabbed - and is now looking at up to 25 years in prison, Suffolk County prosecutors said.

“While the defendant was entrusted to manage this money to benefit the children of the Schechter School, he was secretly lining his own pockets,” the Suffolk District Attorney said in a statement.

“The jury here concluded that the defendant’s lavish lifestyle was funded using the tuition dollars of the hardworking parents of the Schechter School students, and thankfully, the jury held him accountable.”

Prosecutors said the former CFO started skimming school funds in 2014, amassing a fortune over the years to fund a lavish lifestyle - including the purchase of five ritzy beach houses in Ocean Beach on Fire Island.

The former CFO used five different shell operations to hide the stolen money, which he also spent on a Lincoln Aviator, Mercedes-Benz and a prized 1965 Ford Mustang muscle car, along with a rare collection of sports and political memorabilia, the DA’s office said.

The stolen money even paid for $1.4 million in upgrades to the ill-gotten beach houses, which he then used to collect more than $600,000 in rent by leasing them out. He also spent more than $1 million on jewelry, clothes and limousine services, prosecutors said.

The West Islip man used some of the stolen tuition money to pay for his own daughter’s college, too.

According to a $35 million lawsuit filed against him by the school in January, the former CFO pulled off the scheme by setting up a PayPal account in the school’s name and depositing the swiped money in it.

In 2018, he set up a gift-card program to raise money for Schechter School events but skimmed $1.58 million for himself by using an outside company, the suit said.

He also falsified expense reports at the school to illegally collect about $800,000, the court documents allege.

On Tuesday, a Suffolk County jury found him guilty of first-degree grand larceny and money-laundering, and he faces up to 25 years in prison when sentenced April 17.

The former CFO’s lawyer told The Post he is planning an appeal.

“We are exploring all post conviction options for our client and believe there are a number of avenues for a successful appeal,” attorneys Todd Spodek and Ralph Franco said in a statement.

Officials at the Schechter School could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

You’ve seen the show. This is the real defense.

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