WHITE PLAINS, NY (June 19, 2026) — Samuel McVey, the former New Rochelle teacher held at the Westchester County jail since May, has been indicted by a Westchester County grand jury on 29 counts, according to court records, including attempted grand larceny in the first degree involving an amount exceeding $1 million, multiple counts of criminal contempt and extortion, and a charge of making a threat of mass harm.
The indictment, Case No. IND-71394-26/001, was filed in Westchester County Court. It lists an incident date of February 4, 2026, and an arrest date of March 17, 2026, consistent with McVey’s original arrest by the New Rochelle Police Department. McVey is represented by retained defense attorney Jeffrey P. Scaggs. He is next due in Westchester County Court for arraignment on June 22, 2026.
The top charge is Attempted Grand Larceny in the First Degree (PL 110-155.42), a Class C felony, alleging an attempted theft valued at more than $1 million. The identity of the intended victim has not been disclosed in court records reviewed by Talk of the Sound.
The 29 counts include:
• One count of Attempted Grand Larceny in the First Degree, value exceeding $1 million (Class C felony)
• Five counts of Extortion — Grand Larceny in the Second Degree, causing physical injury (Class D felony)
• Three counts of Grand Larceny in the Third Degree (Class E felony)
• One count of Attempted Grand Larceny in the Fourth Degree
• Two counts of Criminal Contempt in the First Degree — Communicates (Class E felony)
• Ten counts of Criminal Contempt in the Second Degree — Disobey Court (Class A misdemeanor)
• Five counts of Aggravated Harassment in the Second Degree — Threat (Class A misdemeanor)
• One count of Making a Threat of Mass Harm (PL 240.78, Class B misdemeanor)
• One count of Bail Jumping in the Third Degree (Class A misdemeanor)
This indictment significantly expands the scope of charges beyond the four separate cases previously pending against McVey in New Rochelle City Court, which Talk of the Sound has reported on extensively. Those cases were transferred to Westchester County Court on June 17, 2026, and have now apparently been superseded by the grand jury indictment.
McVey separately faces a previously unreported charge in Yonkers City Court, Case No. CR-04838-26, where four charges — including Attempted Grand Larceny in the Second Degree (extortion, physical injury), Stalking in the Fourth Degree, Aggravated Harassment in the Second Degree, and Falsely Reporting an Incident — were dismissed following his May 19, 2026 arrest, though a new Aggravated Harassment charge was subsequently added. That case has also been designated for a “730 status” mental competency hearing, with a hearing scheduled for June 23, 2026, in Yonkers City Court.
Videos Posted by McVey Contain Threats, Demands for Money
In the months following his termination, McVey posted a series of videos to a YouTube channel titled “Dr. Samuel M. McVey vs. The City School District of New Rochelle,” in which he made repeated threats against named district officials and demanded money.
In one video, posted after his March 17 arrest, McVey told Board of Education members who voted to approve his termination that if they did not “step down today or tomorrow,” he was coming to their homes with a “fucking bazooka” and would “blow it up,” before adding, “Just kidding.” In the same video, he directed a racial slur at Superintendent Corey Reynolds.
In another video, McVey told named district employees and administrators, including Reynolds, Assistant Superintendent Joan Garon, and Principal Tawanda Robinson, that they were “all going down unless you pay the big dog,” telling them, “you guys could just Zelle me. You know my account,” and giving a deadline of “Friday at 5:00 p.m.”
In other videos, McVey said the district would have to “settle” his planned discrimination lawsuit and discussed a settlement figure of $45 million.
Talk of the Sound reviewed all YouTube transcripts of all videos posted to the channel. The transcripts contain language that may be relevant to several of the charges in the grand jury indictment, including the extortion, grand larceny, aggravated harassment, and making a threat of mass harm counts. However, the indictment itself has not been unsealed, and Talk of the Sound has not confirmed which specific statements, if any, the charges are based on.
Talk of the Sound has reached out to the Westchester County District Attorney’s Office and the Yonkers Police Department for additional information and has not yet received a response. This article will be updated.
Background
Samuel McVey, 47, of Briarcliff Manor, was a probationary Spanish teacher at Isaac E. Young Middle School until January 2026, when Superintendent Corey W. Reynolds notified him of his intent to recommend termination.
In early February, McVey allegedly sent emails to a school official threatening to come to the school “with guns” and stating “we have a bullet for Corey’s head,” prompting heightened security at the school and a police investigation. An arrest warrant and temporary order of protection were issued on February 9.
McVey told Talk of the Sound he had been in Colombia in February 2026, initially planning to coordinate a baseball event during the New Rochelle schools’ mid-winter recess. He said he was interviewing for teaching positions, researching property for a planned bilingual school, and rented a finca in Llanogrande in early March. While Talk of the Sound was unable to independently verify those specific claims, records and witness accounts confirm McVey was present in Medellín as early as March 6 and was at an airport on March 12, as detailed in a previous Talk of the Sound report. McVey returned to the United States between March 12 and March 16.
McVey was arrested at his parents’ home in Briarcliff Manor on March 17, arraigned before Judge Michelle Bernstein on the original charge, pled not guilty, and was released under non-monetary conditions that included surrendering his passport — an order he did not comply with. A second case was initiated on March 20 with an arraignment and arrest warrant. McVey subsequently failed to appear in court on March 24, prompting the warrant in the second case to be continued, and again on March 26 and April 1, triggering bench warrants in the original case on both dates.
McVey returned to Colombia. While there in April, he engaged in conduct that authorities described as “behavior contrary to public coexistence,” including, according to Colombian news reports and local officials posting on X, attempting to enter four separate schools and menacing students, parents, and staff. Colombian police took him into protective custody. Separately, and not previously publicly known, INDER Medellín, a sports agency of the Medellín Mayor’s Office, investigated McVey following a complaint of an on-field assault at a baseball facility. INDER confirmed that the District of Medellín, acting through the Mayor’s Office and in coordination with national immigration authorities, carried out “verification, control, and deportation” of McVey, stating his presence in Colombia did not comply with migration regulations or the behavioral norms required of foreign nationals.
Westchester County prosecutors upgraded the charges to include Criminal Contempt in the First Degree, a felony, and added a bail jumping charge, placing him in the nationwide extraditable warrant system. Baton Rouge Police arrested him on May 7. The New Rochelle Police Department and the Westchester County Police Warrant/Fugitive Unit transported him back to New York.
On May 8, warrants were executed across all pending cases. McVey was arraigned before Judge Bernstein, pled not guilty across all cases, and was unable to post bail. In the newest case, bail was set at $100,000 cash, $200,000 insured bond, or $300,000 partially secured surety bond. He is being held at the Westchester County Department of Correction in Valhalla.
All four cases were designated for a “730 status” hearing on June 2, 2026, meaning the court ordered a mental competency examination to assess whether McVey is fit to understand the charges against him and participate in his own defense. Under Section 730 of the New York Criminal Procedure Law, two psychiatric examiners evaluate the defendant; if both find him unfit, proceedings may be suspended pending treatment. The June 2 hearing was adjourned without resolution. Talk of the Sound was not present in court and has not yet confirmed the outcome of the competency examination. The subsequent transfer of the cases to Westchester County Court does not indicate how, or whether, the competency question was resolved.
This article was prepared with the assistance of AI tools under the direction and editing of Robert Cox.
Have information about this story? Email robertcox@talkofthesound.com or contact via WhatsApp: +353 89 972 0669.