The director of a German immersion preschool in Park Slope, Brooklyn, has been arrested and indicted on federal charges after allegedly embezzling $2.75 million in tuition payments and spending at least $350,000 on tickets to WWE events, including VIP meet-and-greet passes where she and her three children hung out with wrestlers, according to the U.S. Department of Justice and the New York Post.
Murielle Misczak, 43, a Swiss citizen, was the director of KinderHaus Brooklyn on Sixth Avenue and Ninth Street in Park Slope. She was arrested on Wednesday and arraigned before United States Magistrate Judge Peggy Kuo at the federal courthouse in Brooklyn. She is charged with wire fraud, money laundering, and engaging in monetary transactions in criminally derived property. The charges carry a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.
$350,000 on WWE Tickets
According to the federal indictment and a civil lawsuit filed against her by the school in December, Misczak allegedly spent at least $350,000 in embezzled tuition on tickets to WWE events, some of which she posted about on Instagram. The New York Post reported that her WWE spending included VIP meet-and-greet passes to at least one event, where she and her three kids were able to hang out with star wrestlers, according to a law enforcement source.
Misczak also allegedly spent $650,000 on travel and entertainment overall, $150,000 on food delivery services, and hundreds of thousands of dollars on luxury goods, according to federal authorities.
The civil lawsuit described her lifestyle in detail: “She took frequent trips and vacations across the country, often every other weekend, enjoying plush resorts, VIP access to WWE events, and first-class amenities, much of which she documented on her public Instagram and other social media accounts.”
The New York Post noted: “It is unclear why she is so enthusiastic about professional wrestling.”
Earning $40,000 a Year
Misczak earned $40,000 annually from the school, according to the civil lawsuit filed in Brooklyn civil court. The lawsuit alleges she was living far beyond her means, paying for two apartments in Park Slope that cost a combined $36,000 per year.
When the school questioned her about her lavish lifestyle, Misczak claimed she was “the beneficiary of substantial funds from her mother in Basel, Switzerland,” according to the lawsuit. “Of course, this purported beneficiary was a ruse,” the suit states.
How It Worked
According to court filings, Misczak was hired by KinderHaus Brooklyn in 2013 as a Program Coordinator and was promoted to Director in 2020. Starting in January 2022 and continuing through October 2025, she allegedly directed parents to send tuition payments to accounts she controlled and then transferred the money into her personal bank accounts.
She allegedly hid the scheme by manipulating the school’s internal accounting system to falsely show that payments had been deposited into the school’s bank account, and deleted emails that would have revealed the fraud, according to the indictment.
School Principal Used Personal Savings
The school’s principal discovered the scheme in October 2025 and “was forced to use her own personal savings to meet the school’s payroll and operational obligations,” according to the civil lawsuit.
Official Statements
“Misczak abused her position of authority and betrayed the trust of her employer and daycare families by stealing millions in tuition to fund her own extravagant personal lifestyle,” said U.S. Attorney Joseph Nocella Jr. “Our Office will vigorously prosecute corrupt individuals like the defendant who seek to enrich themselves at the expense of services for children.”
FBI Assistant Director in Charge James C. Barnacle Jr. said Misczak “stole millions of dollars from parents whose tuition payments were unknowingly funding personal lavish purchases.”
Misczak’s lawyer, Lowell Sidney, told the New York Post: “My client looks forward to a fair resolution of this matter in court.”
Misczak is presumed innocent unless proven guilty. The case is being handled by the Eastern District of New York’s Business and Securities Fraud Section.
