Press Release

Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Glenn Jakers was charged with grand larceny, accused of siphoning $1.4 million from Eric Javits, Inc., a Long Island City apparel company where he worked as the controller. The money was used to buy luxury items, for personal expenses and to fund The G.O.A.T. bar on Staten Island.

District Attorney Katz said: “This defendant is accused of lining his own pockets at the expense of a company operating in Queens. We will not tolerate our businesses becoming targets of theft, whether at the retail level or by company employees. We will prosecute anyone who would undermine a Queens company and, by extension, its employees and our local economy.”

Jakers, 61, of South Railroad Ave, Staten Island, was arraigned Monday on a complaint charging him with grand larceny in the first degree; criminal possession of stolen property in the first degree; and five counts of criminal possession of a forged instrument in the first degree.

If convicted, Jakers faces up to 25 years in prison. Queens Criminal Court Judge Jerry Iannece ordered Jakers to return to court on January 22, 2024.

According to the charges:

• Jakers worked as the controller at Eric Javits, Inc., which is owned by Eric Javits, from November 2014 through May 9, 2020. He was for responsible drafting checks made payable to vendors of the company.
• From 2015 to 2020, Jakers received at least 150 unauthorized payments, totaling $1,396,444.37 from the company to his own accounts or to a company associated with him.
• Jakers issued unauthorized Eric Javits, Inc. company checks totaling $1,013,211.82. Most of the funds went to his own bank account, with $263,861.37 funneled to a business account under the name Kaylex Inc. That account was tied to Jakers and used to operate The G.O.A.T. bar, at 1674 Richmond Avenue, Staten Island.
• A total of $156,546.49 was also transferred from the Eric Javits PayPal account to PayPal accounts associated with Jakers.
• Jakers, who was also responsible for managing the company’s payroll, received unauthorized payroll adjustments totaling $226,686.06.
• Records show that Jakers spent all of the funds he transferred to himself from Eric Javits, Inc., including approximately $37,634 on purchases at Amazon; $32,728 at a liquor store; $20,329 at StubHub; $4,840 at Apple; $1,154 at Louis Vuitton; and $1,192 at Gucci.
• Money also went to steakhouse dinners, to buy items at a Halloween store and to the Raymour & Flanigan furniture shop.

The investigation was conducted by Queens District Attorney Detective Nicholas Walker under the supervision of Sergeant David Joglar and Lieutenant Rachael Alvarez and under the overall supervision of Chief of Detectives Thomas Conforti, and by Investigative Accountant Silvana Sutich under the supervision of the Director of the Forensic Accounting Unit Joseph D. Plonski.

Assistant District Attorney Dimitris Gizas of the District Attorney’s Frauds Bureau is prosecuting the case under the supervision of Hana Kim, Deputy Bureau Chief, Joseph T. Conley III, Bureau Chief, and under the overall supervision of Executive Assistant District Attorney for the Investigations Division, Gerard A. Brave.