The Daily Mail Copyright 2021, Columbia-Greene Media Volume 230, No. 19
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FRIDAY, JANUARY 28, 2022
5 years for stealing $5M in COVID funds
By Bill Williams
Columbia-Greene Media
ALBANY — A Saugerties man was sentenced to state prison Tuesday for his role in the theft of nearly $5 million in COVID-19 relief funds. Jean R. Lavanture, a/k/a “JR,” a/k/a “Rudy Lavanture,” 49, was sentenced in federal court in Albany to five years in prison for conspiring to commit bank fraud and conspiring to commit wire fraud, U.S. Attorney Carla B. Freedman said. Lavanture pleaded guilty Sept. 2, and admitted to fraudulently obtaining $4,870,781
in government-backed loans that were meant for businesses struggling with the financial effects of the coronavirus pandemic, Freedman said. Lavanture conspired with Sean M. Andre to obtain $4,309,581 in Paycheck Protection Program loans between June and August 2020 by submitting fraudulent loan applications in the names of four inactive companies that Lavanture controlled, Freedman said. “Each loan application grossly misrepresented each company’s employees and payroll,” Freedman said.
“Each application also included false corporate tax documents that Andre created as part of the scheme,” Freedman said. Lavanture admitted that none of his companies had a payroll or employees, Freedman said. Lavanture also admitted that, on his own, he fraudulently obtained $561,200 in Economic Injury Disaster Loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration. During sentencing, Chief U.S. District Judge Glenn See FUNDS A2
LOGO COURTESY OF U.S. SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
A Saugerties man was sentenced to prison, for his role in stealing nearly $5 million from the Paycheck Protection Program.
Number of active virus cases declining By Ted Remsnyder Columbia-Greene Media
TED REMSNYDER/COLUMBIA-GREENE MEDIA
CATSKILL — Active COVID-19 cases plummeted in Greene County this week, falling to the lowest levels in six weeks. As of Jan. 26, the county had 252 active Covid cases, the first time the total has dropped below 300 since Dec. 15. On Jan. 21, the Greene County Department of Health confirmed 994 active cases. In the next public update five days later, cases had dropped by 742. The agency notes that the current numbers reflect the new shortened five-day isolation requirements that the state amended from the previous 10-day requirement. There are currently 39 Greene residents hospitalized due to COVID-related illnesses, an increase of three individuals since last week. There have been 9,179 confirmed COVID cases in the county since the pandemic began in March 2020. Greene County Public Health identified 300 new cases between Jan. 21 and Jan. 26. While the active cases in the county fell precipitously over the past week, three more deaths connected to COVID-related illnesses in the county were confirmed, bringing the total to 107 COVID deaths in the county since the start of the pandemic. The three unidentified casualties included a woman in her 80s, a woman in her late 60s and a man in his 50s. All three individuals were vaccinated for COVID at the time of their deaths and all had comorbidities. Greene County Administrator Shaun Groden said Thursday he was encouraged by the falling case number but still wanted to see the hospitalization rate decline. “Superficially, yes, it’s a good sign,” he said. “But the hospitalization rate is still higher
A vaccination clinic at Catskill High School on Nov. 18. Active cases numbers in Greene County fell to 252 on Jan. 26.
See CASES A2
Educators call for record investment in school services By Kate Lisa Johnson Newspaper Corp.
COURTESY OF THE STATE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT
The New York State Department of Education building in Albany.
n FORECAST FOR HUDSON/CA
n WEATHER page A2 TODAY TONIGHT
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ALBANY — Educators must invest historic levels of state aid to bolster services and programs for elementary school students, including earlier, more efficient screenings for learning disabilities and mental health issues, education leaders said Wednesday. The majority of a child’s educational foundation occurs from pre-Kindergarten through fourth grade. But state Education Department Commissioner Betty A. Rosa told lawmakers during a virtual budget hearing
on education Wednesday that the state Education Department equally prioritizes all grade levels. Assembly Majority Leader Crystal Peoples-Stokes, D-Buffalo, countered that approach, and said a growing number of students who graduate from New York schools lack the educational preparation when they begin collegiate programs at State University of New York and City University of New York campuses. “K-12 is sending far too many students to college that are not prepared to be in college, and
n THE SCENE
SPORTS
n INDEX
Mechanicville over Catskill
All that jazz
The Catskill Cats fell to the Mechanicville Red Raiders 48-38 PAGE B1
Warren Wolf, Jimmy Greene to perform at jazz fest PAGE A8
Region A3 Opinion A4 Local A5 State/Nation A6 ObituariesA6 Sports B1 Classified B4-B5 Comics/Advice B7-B8
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that is not a very good return on the investment that we put in for K-12, Peoples-Stokes said. “I’m appreciative that foundation aid dollars are there ...although I hope that those positions end up having some real concerted focus on making sure that foundational education is provided for everyone who attends schools in the state of New York.” Rosa assured the Assembly leader the department works with each of the 800-plus local school districts and their superintendents. “Collectively, we See SERVICES A2
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