QUEENS, NY – Gregory Vasicek, the 60-year-old president of the Queens-based charity Play4Autism, pleaded guilty to a charge of Scheme to Defraud in the First Degree. According to Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney, Vasicek confessed to stealing thousands of dollars from multiple fundraising vendors and donors.
Vasicek admitted that between April 21 and May 2, 2022, he wrote numerous checks from his charity’s bank account, despite knowing that the funds would be insufficient to pay for the services and goods being purchased. Among those affected by Vasicek’s scheme were a golf course and restaurant in Manorville, and an amusement park in Melville.
Vasicek also deceitfully solicited and received hundreds of dollars in registration fees for a golf outing in Manorville, scheduled for October 19, 2022. The event was never planned to take place.
Vasicek pleaded guilty on Friday, May 12, 2023, before Acting Supreme Court Justice Richard I. Horowitz. His sentencing is scheduled for July 6, 2023. The Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office encourages anyone suspecting they may have been defrauded by Vasicek or Play4Autism to report such matters to their office at (631) 853-4626.