A 39-year-old East Fishkill woman has been sentenced to 3 to 9 years in New York State prison after pleading guilty to stealing more than $1 million from a Saratoga Springs institution by posing as one of its construction contractors. Kirsten E. Zubini and her affiliates misrepresented themselves as being associated with the company performing the institution's construction work, then directed the organization to wire payments into a bank account Zubini controlled.
The scheme came to light after a local representative contacted state troopers in January 2024, kicking off a five-month investigation that ended with Zubini's arrest that June, according to the New York State Police. Troopers say she was arraigned in Malta Town Court in Ballston Spa and released on her own recognizance while the case moved through pre-trial proceedings. She was initially charged with first-degree grand larceny, a Class B felony, before ultimately pleading guilty to first-degree criminal possession of stolen property — also a Class B felony — as reported by WPDH.
As detailed by WRGB, the institution took steps to reverse the fraudulently diverted payment once the theft was discovered. Between the organization, a local bank, and law enforcement, all but around $20,000 of the stolen funds was ultimately recovered.
How the Vendor Impersonation Worked
After Zubini's arrest, the investigation widened into a multi-agency effort involving the Saratoga County District Attorney's Office, New York State Police Troop G, and the FBI Financial Crimes Task Force, per the Saratoga County District Attorney's Office. Investigators conducted extensive forensic financial reviews to trace exactly how the money moved once it left the institution's accounts. The scheme specifically targeted the organization while it was in the middle of a large-scale construction project, exploiting pending vendor payments to redirect the cash into accounts Zubini controlled.
District Attorney Brett Eby said the fraud caused significant financial harm to local institutions and commended everyone involved in recovering the stolen funds and holding Zubini accountable, according to the same office. The sentencing took place in Saratoga County.
Restitution and the Legal Threshold Behind the Charge
As part of her sentence, Zubini was ordered to pay $20,426 in direct restitution — covering the exact amount of stolen funds that was never recovered — along with a court-mandated DNA submission, a waiver of her appeal rights, and statutory financial surcharges, the DA's office noted. Under New York Penal Law § 165.54, criminal possession of stolen property in the first degree is a Class B felony that applies when someone knowingly possesses stolen property valued above $1 million with intent to benefit themselves or block its recovery, according to the New York State Senate.
That same statutory framework sets Class B non-violent felonies at a maximum of up to 25 years in state prison, with a mandatory minimum of 1 to 3 years for first-time felony offenders, putting Zubini's 3-to-9-year term within that indeterminate sentencing range. Brett Eby took office as Saratoga County District Attorney after winning election in late 2025, overseeing criminal prosecutions across a county of more than 215,000 residents spread over 19 towns and two cities, per Saratoga TODAY.
Part of a Bigger National Pattern
The vendor-impersonation tactic used against the Saratoga Springs institution mirrors a fraud trend playing out across the country. FBI cybercrime data reported in 2026 shows Business Email Compromise and vendor payment redirection scams caused more than $3 billion in national losses in 2025 across over 24,000 victim complaints, a trend Hoodline recently covered in connection with a Utah lawmaker's push for a wire-fraud bill after a retired Marine lost $60,000. Large capital projects, with their steady stream of vendor invoices and wire transfers, have become a favored target for scammers running these same impersonation schemes nationwide.
