Rabbi busted in $1+ million welfare fraud case

[Monello]

Those are some generous benefits for a 5 year period.
Lakewood's medium home value is $600,000.

[h=3]MEDIAN HOME VALUE:
$601,660[/h]

That's a lot of sixes. https://www.neighborhoodscout.com/nj/lakewood/real-estate

[FONT=&quot]A rabbi, his wife and three other couples were arrested Monday morning in a series of raids by federal and state authorities in a massive welfare fraud investigation, authorities said.[/FONT][FONT=&quot]Those arrested included Rabbi Zalmen Sorotzkin, 39, who runs the Congregation Lutzk synagogue, his 35-year-old wife, Tzipporah; Mordechai Sorotzkin, 35, and his wife, Rachel, 32; Shimon Nussbaum, 42, and his wife Yocheved, 40; and Mordechai Breskin, 37, and his wife Jocheved, 35, authorities said.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Federal prosecutors said the arrests stemmed from a massive joint investigation by the FBI, Ocean County Prosecutor's Office, the state Comptroller's Office, the state Treasury Department's Office of Criminal Investigation, the Internal Revenue Service, the Social Security Administration and Lakewood police.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]The defendants are accused of collecting $1.3 million in unearned benefits, according to the Comptroller's Office.[/FONT]

that's a lot of matzohs

 

[black dog]

Are the hotdogs served by inmates in prison kosher????

I hope his buns are ready for a non kosher big papi.....

 

[Restitution]

Oiy vey!!!!

No need to worry though... a fine and some community service and they will be back to schmootzin' in no time

 

[b23hqb]

Bad "religious" people doing wrong things know no denominational bounds. Monello, you could start a "Preacher/Rabbi/Priest/Preacher and the law" thread.

 

[Monello]

Bad "religious" people doing wrong things know no denominational bounds. Monello, you could start a "Preacher/Rabbi/Priest/Preacher and the law" thread.

I started this 1 a few years ago but it started going off the rails and then the juice wasn't worth the squeeze. Mostly pointing out religious pedophilia and those who knew but chose not to do anything.

http://forums.somd.com/threads/206101-Catholic-church-Pope-Vatican-Pedophile-thread

 

[Monello]

The rest of the story

These were some uber wealthy people that were clearly getting while the getting was good. Shell corporations and hidden bank accounts. They went through a lot of trouble to hide their assets. This should be a red flag for the IRS.

[FONT=&quot]The feds say Rachel and Mordechai Sorotzkind received Medicaid benefits for themselves and their children despite getting “significant windfalls,” including a $1 million payment to Rachel Sorotzkin’s business in April 2013. Fitzpatrick said that payment was not reported to Medicaid, nor was the fact that the couple earned more than $1 million in both 2012 and 2013 while they continued to claim medicaid benefits. In total Fitzpatrick said the couple collected close to $96,000 in “taxpayer-funded medical care,”

[/FONT][FONT=&quot]Fitzpatrick said the Nussbaums also received illegal benefits from 2011 through 2014 by creating several shell companies, which they said were run by relatives but were actually under their control. Fitzpatrick said the family made as much as $1.8 million in 2013 but still applied for Medicaid, Section 8 housing, and SNAP food benefits.
In order to hide their income, Fitzpatrick said the couple opened several bank accounts using the names of the companies and would then use the money from the accounts for their daily expenses. In total, Fitzpatrick said the Nussbaums received close to $178,000 in government funds.


Read More: Lakewood couples earned millions and still cheated welfare, officials say — More arrests coming | http://nj1015.com/8-lakewood-millio...rests-coming-officials-say/?trackback=tsmclip[/FONT]

 

[Monello]

That is a sweet deal. Declare your home a house of worship and don't have to pay property tax.

[FONT=&quot]Sorotzkin's home is a mansion at the end of a cul-de-sac valued at $885,000 and owned by Congregation Lutzk.
[/FONT][FONT=&quot]According to the Lakewood tax assessor's office, the Sorotzkin's home was tax-exempt as a religious property.[/FONT]

God's humble servant

 

[Monello]

6 more arrested in welfare fraud

The investigation is ongoing. The town of Lakewood is home to a very large Jewish population. Home prices are quite high but the average income for the town is amazing low.

Fraud in close to $2M. How much higher can it get? How many more people will be arrested? How many will avoid jail sentences?

[FONT=&quot]Authorities arrested three more Lakewood couples Tuesday night in a continued effort to crack down on residents suspected of defrauding government-assistance programs, [/FONT][FONT=&quot]The raids, conducted just before midnight, come on the heels of a [/FONT]massive bust on Monday morning[FONT=&quot] that led to the arrests of eight Lakewood residents

[/FONT][FONT=&quot]Arrested on Tuesday night were Yitzchok, 33, and Sora, 39, Kanarek of Brisk Lane; Chaim, 40, and Liatt, 39, Ehrman, of Twin Oaks Drive; and William, 45, and Faigy, 40, Friedman, of Leigh Drive,
[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]The statement said the latest residents arrested in the raids are accused of obtaining a combined $674,537 in illegal benefits from programs such as Medicaid, SNAP food assistance, HUD and Social Security, bringing the two-day total of alleged illegally obtained benefits to nearly $2 million.[/FONT]

so much crime in 1 small town

 

[warneckutz]

Are the hotdogs served by inmates in prison kosher????

I hope his buns are ready for a non kosher big papi.....

Okay...

 

[warneckutz]

 

[Monello]

12 more Lakewood residents arrested for fraud

The count is now at 26 arrested and may rise. Others have to be very worried as it seems it's just a matter of time.

[FONT=&quot]

• Eliizer, 33, and Elkie, 31, Sorotzkin are accused of wrongfully collecting approximately $74,960 in Medicaid benefits from January 2011 and December 2013.
• Samuel, 45, and Esther, 44, Serhofer are accused of illegally obtaining $72,685 in Medicaid benefits between January 2009 and December 2013.
• Yisroel, 37, and Rachel, 34, Merkin allegedly illegally collected approximately $70,557 in Medicaid, SNAP and HEAP benefits between January 2011 and December 2014.
• Jerome Menchel, 33, and Mottel Friedman, 30, are accused of collecting $63,839 in Medicaid and SNAP benefits between January 2011 and July 2014.
• Tzvi, 35, and Estee, 34, Braun allegedly collected $62,746 in illegal benefits from Medicaid, HEAP and Catastrophic Illness in Children Relief Fund (CICRF) between January 2009 and December 2013.
• Moseh, 30, and Nechama, 27, Hirschmann are accused of wrongfully collecting $53,418 in Medicaid and SNAP benefits from January 2011 and December 2015.

[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]The recent charges bring the total amount of illegally obtained benefits to well over $2 million. [/FONT]

show me the money

 

[Monello]

159 welfare cheats avoid convictions & jail time

So you can cheat welfare and if you get busted just pay back the money and all is forgiven. That doesn't seem to be any disincentive to cheat.

[FONT=&amp]State officials on Tuesday said 159 residents of Ocean County took advantage of an amnesty program that will allow them to avoid criminal charges by paying back $2.2 million in welfare benefits.

[/FONT][FONT=&amp]The amnesty program was announced last year after state and federal authorities charged 26 people with cheating public assistance programs out of more than $2.4 million. Those arrested were all from Lakewood.

[/FONT]
[FONT=&amp]Many of those who faced criminal charges have been granted the opportunity to apply for pre-trial intervention, which allows first-time nonviolent offenders from avoiding prison sentence and criminal convictions.

[/FONT]

[FONT=&amp]Those who already were charged with crimes were not eligible for the amnesty program.

[/FONT]
[FONT=&amp]The 159 people accepted into the Ocean County Recipient Voluntary Disclosure Program will not be eligible for Medicaid benefits for at least a year.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Lakewood is second only to the state's largest city, Newark, among municipalities with the highest number of children on welfare, according to Census records.[/FONT][FONT=&quot]Out of the 43,571 children in Lakewood, 21,600 of them receive government benefits, according to a 2015 U.S. Census estimate. Lakewood, which has the largest average family size in the state, also has the highest number of two-parent families receiving benefits, Census records show.

[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]The amnesty program angered many in the public who thought it was allowing people to get away with cheating the public. [/FONT]

 

[Monello]

6 more arrested in massive welfare fraud in the Jewish community.

Authorities arrested three more Lakewood couples Tuesday night in a continued effort to crack down on residents suspected of defrauding government-assistance programs, officials announced Wednesday morning.

Arrested on Tuesday night were Yitzchok, 33, and Sora, 39, Kanarek of Brisk Lane; Chaim, 40, and Liatt, 39, Ehrman, of Twin Oaks Drive; and William, 45, and Faigy, 40, Friedman, of Leigh Drive, according to a joint statement from Ocean County Prosecutor Joseph Coronato and State Comptroller Philip James Degnan.

All six defendants were charged with theft by deception, a second-degree offense, and are scheduled to appear in Superior Court in Ocean County Wednesday afternoon.

The statement said the latest residents arrested in the raids are accused of obtaining a combined $674,537 in illegal benefits from programs such as Medicaid, SNAP food assistance, HUD and Social Security, bringing the two-day total of alleged illegally obtained benefits to nearly $2 million.

Monday's sweeps included the takedown of Lakewood Rabbi Zalmen Sorotzkin, and his wife Tzipporah; the rabbi's brother Mordechai Sorotzkin, 35, and his wife, Rachel, 32; Shimon Nussbaum, 42, and his wife, Yocheved, 40; and Mordechai Breskin, 37, and his wife, Jocheved, 35, authorities said.

Zalmen Sorotzkin and his wife, Tzipporah, were accused of taking $338,642 in Medicaid, SNAP, HUD and Social Security benefits between January 2009 and April 2014.

Mordechai Breskin and his wife, Jocheved, were accused in state court of collecting $585,662 in Medicaid, SNAP, HUD and Social Security benefits between January 2009 thru December 2014.

beats working