Russians busted in day care scam

From the NY Post:

Seven city workers have been busted for allegedly taking cash and jewelry to help a ring of Russian day-care center operators scam more than $18 million in taxpayer money.

The scheme involved more than 30 day-care centers in Brooklyn and Staten Island run by a group that called itself "the Congregation," according to a complaint filed this morning in Manhattan federal court.

Alleged ringleader Liudmila Umarov and three co-defendants are accused of bribing workers at various city agencies to help them defraud a subsidy program for low-income parents.

The scam, which was uncovered by the city Department of Investigation, used the names of eligible kids gleaned from city records to get payments for services never actually provided.

The city workers also steered parents to send their children to centers run by the Congregation, and enrolled homeless-shelter kids in their programs, the complaint says.