Former dean Cecilia Chang made bail for the second time on Friday. Several friends, including Carol Eng, pledged their houses or promises of repayment from Chang affiliates in order to post her $1.5 million dollar bail, according to Eng, an Elmhurst resident, said in a phone interview with the Torch that she believes in Chang.
“I listed my house as a surety because I think she is innocent because I have known her for 20 years,” she said. “We never worked together, but I put up my house because I think she is innocent.”
Chang’s supporter’s own homes around the New York City area such as in Hollis Hills, Hempstead, and Elmhurst.
According to a federal court document from the Eastern District Court in downtown Brooklyn, some of the guarantors were friends of her son, Steven. Pledging their personal residences as sureties, they voiced support for Chang’s.
Two of the guarantors are friends of Steven and employees of KPMG, a network of tax and auditing firms.
Ray Zardetto, senior director of Corporate Communications, says KPMG is not going to comment on the alleged actions of its employees at this time.
In a complaint brought before the Federal District Court in Brooklyn on Thursday, Chang is alleged to have threatened the students if they refused to perform household chores and other personal services for her.
As dean of the Institute of Asian Studies, a position she held until 2010, Chang was allowed to grant scholarships to students. Recipients of scholarships handed out by Chang were told the money was contingent on working a minimum of 20 hours a week and 122 days per year, per person.
Chang also had students help with her embezzlement scheme against St. John’s, according to a federal affidavit. The complaint says Chang provided students a list of expenses that they were required to past onto authentic credit card statements from Chang’s account that were submitted to the university for reimbursement.