Valley Stream therapist billed Westbury children's agency for sessions she never held, police say

A Valley Stream woman was charged Thursday with grand larceny plus 25 additional counts related to allegedly forging documents to steal more than $2,800 from a Westbury facility that serves children with developmental disabilities, officials said.

Kimberly Clarke, 44, of Valley Stream, and a former employee of Family of Kidz in Westbury, is accused of forging signatures on official documents between March 2023 and January 2024, Nassau police said.

As a licensed special instructions therapist, Clarke allegedly billed Family of Kidz for sessions which authorities said she never provided. She forged the signatures of five different parents on official Nassau County documents a total of 52 times, resulting in a loss of $2,886, police said.

The Westbury facility where Clarke formerly worked is one of many Family of Kidz centers on Long Island and upstate that provide "therapeutic and educational services to children and families impacted by developmental disabilities, including autism," according to the organization’s website.

Nassau police arrested Clarke without incident Thursday, authorities said. She pleaded not guilty in Nassau First District County in Hempstead to one count of fourth-degree grand larceny, 12 counts of second-degree criminal possession of a forged instrument and 13 counts of first-degree falsifying business records, according to court documents.

She was released on her own recognizance and is due back in court Wednesday, according to court records.

Kimberly Dawn Lerner, the Carle Place-based defense attorney identified as representing Clarke in court documents, was not immediately available for comment Thursday evening.