Sobbing woman gives muffled defense for allegedly stealing $2.5M from Fox anchor’s restaurant and using cash to buy new home
A worker at a restaurant owned by a Fox morning show host sobbed and pleaded her innocence after being accused of stealing nearly $2.5 million from her employer.
Lori Jakubowski, 56, walked into court on Tuesday facing several charges after she was accused of making off with $2.485 million while working at Fresco by Scotto.
The ritzy Italian restaurant, located in Midtown Manhattan, is owned by Fox 5’s ‘Good Day New York’ anchor Rosanna Scotto and her family.
Prosecutors alleged that Jakubowski funneled the money over seven years from the eatery to pay her husband’s bills and purchase a $164,500 home in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, in 2023.
She wrote checks and pocketed cash tips to fund her new, lavish lifestyle, while working as the restaurant’s bookkeeper, prosecutors say.
At her hearing in Manhattan on Tuesday, prosecutors suggested to Judge Althea Drysdale that the bookkeeper serve three to nine years in prison.
Jakubowski, who appeared stoic as she waited for hours to be called, immediately broke down in tears when approached outside the courtroom by the Daily Mail.
‘I didn’t do anything,’ Jakubowski said, with tears streaming down her face. ‘I don’t want to speak right now.’
Lori Jakubowski, 56, faces several charges after she was accused of making off with $2,485,779.79 while working at Fresco by Scotto
Jakubowski allegedly stole from Fresco by Scotto, the restaurant owned by Fox 5’s ‘Good Day New York’ anchor Rosanna Scotto (Pictured) and her family, to pay for $164,500 home in Pennsylvania
Prosecutors alleged that Jakubowski funneled the money over seven years from the eatery to pay her husband’s bills and purchase a $164,500 home in Johnstown, Pennsylvania in 2023 (pictured)
She previously pleaded not guilty to charges of grand larceny and falsifying business records.
However, prosecutors detailed the alleged lengths to which Jakubowski would go to steal during her first hearing in December 2025.
District Attorney Stephen MacArthur said the bookkeeper overpaid herself ‘by issuing unauthorized paychecks allegedly for vacation time,’ according to the New York Post.
Prosecutors claimed that Jakubowski laundered at least $100,000 to purchase her Pennsylvania home and wrote 88 individual checks to make payments in 2023.
She was also accused of paying her husband’s Spectrum Internet bill using the restaurant’s bank account.
The bookkeeper was indicted on one count of grand larceny in the first degree, one count of money laundering in the second degree and two counts of falsifying business records in the first degree.
Jakubowski, who is out on agreed-upon release, is expected to appear in court on November 10.
She had previously been warned by Judge Drysdale to attend all hearings, according to the Post.
Jakubowski appeared stoic as prosecutors urged that she spend nearly a decade behind bars
The ritzy Italian restaurant, located in Midtown Manhattan, is owned by Fox 5’s ‘Good Day New York’ anchor Rosanna Scotto and her family
She immediately broke down in tears when approached outside the courtroom by the Daily Mail
‘I didn’t do anything,’ Jakubowski told a Daily Mail reporter, with tears streaming down her face. ‘I don’t want to speak right now’
Fresco by Scotto, located at 34 East 52nd Street, is owned by the Fox anchor and her children, Jenn and LJ Ruggiero
‘As much as you have that other abode in Pennsylvania, you must come to court when I tell you to come to court. Do you understand?’ the judge asked.
Jakubowski said she understood.
Fresco by Scotto opened in 1993, and the Scotto family is often seen advertising the eatery on the anchor’s own program.
Scotto has been working at Fox for over 40 years, having started in 1986.
The Daily Mail has reached out to Scotto and Jakubowski’s attorney for comment.
