A Bergen County councilwoman has resigned from her elected position after she was arrested in Connecticut Thursday under suspicion of embezzling tens of thousands of dollars from a nonprofit she helped lead that aimed to helping families who’ve lost children.
Abby Lundy, 60, of Hillsdale, surrendered to police in New Cannan, Connecticut after being charged with first-degree larceny and second and third-degree forgery.
Hillsdale mayor Michael Sheinfield said Tuesday that Lundy resigned Friday. The investigation into accusations of financial misconduct began in July.
Authorities accused Lundy of a long-running embezzlement scheme that fraudulently steered $85,873.32 away from the New Cannan-based nonprofit First Candle to herself, according to a report from the Stamford Advocate citing the arrest warrant for Lundy.
First Candle is a nonprofit that aims to eliminate Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, also known as SIDS, and unexpected deaths of infants due to suffocation.
According to the Stamford Advocate, Lundy was the CFO of the organization and an investigation by police began after the nonprofit’s CEO discovered the organization had lost its nonprofit status with the IRS in 2023 for allegedly failing to withhold payroll taxes since 2020.
The Stamford Advocate reported that police wrote in the warrant for Lundy’s arrest that the IRS assumed the nonprofit had closed. Police said in the arrest warrant that Allison Jacobson, the nonprofit’s CEO asked Lundy to meet with the IRS to correct the nonprofit’s status prior to going to police, according to reports.
Investigators said Lundy told Jacobson in March that she had met with IRS officials, but Jacobson later determined the meeting never happened and in looking deeper into the nonprofit’s finances, discovered that Lundy had not filed payroll taxes for the organization since 2020 and had not filed tax returns since 2019, the Stamford Advocate reported.
When confronted with the financial irregularities, Lundy told Jacobson that she took the money, but that she did not do it “maliciously” and that things had gotten out of control, according to reports.
Jacobson, the CEO for First Candle declined to comment on the charges Tuesday based on legal advice for the nonprofit. Jacobson clarified that the 501(c)3 nonprofit status of First Candle has been reinstated and is in good standing.
Upon learning more about the allegations against Lundy, Sheinfield said the full governing body immediately initiated an audit of the borough’s finances on Monday.
“We respect her right to due process, and privacy and have no comment on anything related to her personal life,” Sheinfeld said Tuesday.
Lundy was taken remains in custody on a $75,000 bond. An attorney for her was not listed in Connecticut court records Tuesday. Her next court appearance is scheduled for Oct. 23.
Stories by Matthew Enuco
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Matthew Enuco may be reached at Menuco@njadvancemedia.com. Follow Matt on X