ALBANY — A former husband-and-wife team whose companies provide special-education services to disabled preschoolers treated themselves to cars, bonuses, Broadway-show tickets, a trip to Israel and even an online dating service with taxpayer money, audits released yesterday claim.
State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli said he’s considering referring his findings about Kids Quality Care Inc. and Kids & the Training Institute — both of Manhattan and owned by ex-spouses Yair and Orly Cohen — to law enforcement.
He’s also asking state education regulators to recoup more than a half-million dollars, which includes $32,120 for Orly Cohen’s Toyota Prius, a $42,000 Toyota 4Runner for Yair Cohen paid partly with public funds, and $1,900 for airfare to Israel for a conference.
“Money that should be going to students with special needs is instead paying exorbitant salaries and bonuses for providers,” DiNapoli said. “This has to stop.”
Yair Cohen had no comment yesterday, but the Cohens disputed virtually all of DiNapoli’s findings in a letter to his office.