Patricia Sparby, of West Islip, charged for stealing more than $385G from employer

A West Islip woman was charged with embezzling more than $385,000 from her employer over a five-year span, Suffolk County police said.

Police said following an investigation by its  Financial Crimes Unit and the Suffolk County District Attorney's Financial Crimes Bureau, Patricia Sparby, 66, was arrested on Tuesday and charged with second-degree grand larceny.

Sparby was arraigned Tuesday on the class C felony before District Judge F. Scott Carrigan in First District Court in Central Islip. Carrigan ordered Sparby released without bail.

Sparby is due back in court on June 9 and faces up to five 5 to 15 years in prison if convicted. She is being represented by the Legal Aid Society.

Police said between January 2019 and August 2024, while working as a bookkeeper for R & J Display Inc., of West Babylon, Sparby "wrote checks to herself" totaling $385,424.36. The fraud was discovered during an audit last year, police said in a news release.

The embezzled funds were mostly used by Sparby for personal expenses, though it was not clear if any of the proceeds were recovered as a result of the investigation, police said.

By John Valenti

john.valenti@newsday.com

John Valenti, a Newsday reporter since 1981, has been honored nationally by the Associated Press, Society of the Silurians and National Headliner Awards for investigative, enterprise and breaking news reporting, as well as column writing. He is the author of “Swee'pea,” about New York playground basketball star Lloyd Daniels. His debut crime novel, “For Nothing Is Hidden,” rooted in 1950s Long Island, was released in October 2025.