Metro

Day care ‘karate’ scammer has assault charges dropped

A multimillion-dollar day care scammer who whipped out violent martial arts moves on news photographers after a 2011 court appearance had his assault charges dropped Tuesday after prosecutors exceeded speedy trial limits and the complaining witness lost interest in pursuing the case.

Ziming Shen had his misdemeanor attempted assault and menacing charges dismissed after his defense attorney filed a motion asking charges be dismissed because prosecutors took too long to go to trial.

“We filed a speedy trial motion and it was conceded by the District Attorney,” said defense attorney Enrico DeMarco.

The Brooklyn DA press office said the charges were dismissed because the photographer Shen was accused of assaulting said last month that he was moving and did not want to pursue the case.

When Shen was released on bail in his day care fraud case in 2011 he launched an assault on the media waiting outside Brooklyn federal court, karate chopping and kicking wildly and bloodying one photographer.

He was convicted last year of embezzling $3 million in government funds intended to feed poor kids and was sentenced to one year of home arrest and four years of supervised probation.