Little Neck Resident Pleads Guilty For Scamming Charity

A Little Neck man, along with two others, siphoned thousands of dollars meant for charity into his own pockets, according to Queens District Attorney Richard Brown.

Spiros Moshopoulos, a resident of 52-21 Browvale Lane, pled guilty Monday to second degree grand larceny for scamming the Greek Orthodox Church out of $830,000 in proceeds from games at an Astoria bingo hall.

According to the Queens DA, Moshopoulos, along with Tommy Skiada and Daniella Radulescu, both of Astoria, admitted to operating a bingo hall billed as benefiting several inactive charities in order to siphon money from players for their own profit. 

The scam centered around daily bingo games held at Romanian Orthodox Church of Sts. Constantine & Helen in Astoria, with several people posing as representatives of the inactive charities, the Queens DA said.

“Preying on charitable organizations who rely on the good faith of participants cooperating toward worthy causes is particularly low," said Joseph D’Amico, superintendent of the New York State Police — the agency that, along with the New York State Racing and Wagering Board, helped uncover the scheme.

No one answered the door at Moshopoulos' tidy house Tuesday afternoon, though a black Mercedes E-320 was parked in the driveway.

According to the charges, Moshopoulos set up a corporation, Spimos Enterprises, Inc., in which he served as president, Radulescu as church manager and Skiada as a security officer.

As part of the deal, Moshopoulos agreed to pay $830,000 in restitution to the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, plus an additional $170,000 in statutory damages, the Queens DA said. Spimos Enterprises was also ordered dissolved.

Sentencing is scheduled for April 6. According to the Queens DA, the defendants are expected to receive three-year conditional discharges.