Spinka Gabbai, Banker Plead Guilty

And the gabbai is trying to take the fall for the Spinka Rebbe, whose trial is fast approaching, as…

…the LA Times and UPI report:

Rabbi and banker plead guilty in tax-evasion scam
They used an elaborate money transfer network in Israel, New York and Los Angeles' downtown Jewelry District to defraud the U.S. government of millions.
By Victoria Kim, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
June 28, 2008


Federal prosecutors secured guilty pleas Friday from a Tel Aviv-based banker and a New York-based rabbi for their involvement in a decade-long international tax-evasion scam centered around an Orthodox Jewish sect that defrauded the U.S. government of millions in tax revenue.

Joseph Roth, 66, an account manager for Israel-based United Mizrahi Bank, and Rabbi Moshe Zigelman, 60, admitted to their parts in a scheme in which people made bogus tax-exempt donations to charitable organizations related to Spinka, an Orthodox Jewish sect.

Most of that money was shuttled back to donors through an elaborate underground money transfer network in Israel, New York and Los Angeles' downtown Jewelry District. Those involved in the scheme received cash kickbacks, prosecutors said.

Roth pleaded guilty to a federal conspiracy charge in a district court Friday and Zigelman agreed to plead guilty at a hearing scheduled for Tuesday, federal prosecutors said. New York-based Zigelman was executive assistant to Grand Rabbi Naftali Tzi Weisz, the sect's leader, who was arrested last year in relation to the scheme and is scheduled to stand trial in September.

In a plea agreement filed Friday, Zigelman admitted to soliciting donations by promising to refund 80% to 95% of the sum. Zigelman and Weisz collected almost $8.5 million in contributions in 2006 and returned $7.7 million of that to the donors, and Spinka got a profit of more than $740,000 from those transactions, according to the plea agreement.

Roth admitted in court Friday that he established secret overseas bank accounts and bogus loans to facilitate the transfer of funds and charged fees to repatriate the money into the U.S., prosecutors said.

Zigelman's attorney, Michael Proctor, said his client was "atoning for his own wrongdoing" and would not testify against the other defendants. Zigelman faces a maximum sentence of 33 months in prison, Proctor said.

UPI adds:

The two defendants are among eight individuals -- including Naftali Tzi Weisz, the grand rabbi of Spinka -- and five charitable entities indicted last year.

The remaining defendants face trial Sept. 9 and Roth is to be sentenced Oct.20.

Previous posts: 1, 2, 3, 4.

[Hat Tip: Michelle.]

Comments

[f]

what a disgusting race these hungarians are. first the pupa rebbe, now this..

[chaim]

what a disgusting race these hungarians are. first the pupa rebbe, now this..
posted by;f
========================================
as i recall this is exactly what the nazis
used to say 'what a disgusting race all these jews are'
therefore you are no better than them,
i have no doubt have you lived 60 yrs ago in europe during the holocaust,you would have been one of those jewish nazi kapo colaborators,
you are nothing but human garbage
chaim

[the man]

go eat some more feces, scottie

[Isa]

The Feds don't do deals unless one becomes a 'tweety bird' har har har

[steve]

go eat some more feces, scottie

Actually, it's the Rubashkin fressers that have gotten used to eating feces:

Agriprocessors Inc. has a history of noncompliance with state and federal regulations related to food safety, pollution and workplace safety at its Postville facility, government records show. Here are some actions government regulators have taken in the past 2years

DECEMBER 2006: USDA inspectors find fecal contamination of chickens being processed. In one case, an inspector has to intervene three times to correct the problem. A day later, an inspector finds that about half the chickens he observes being processed are contaminated with feces and bile. A week later, inspectors note that at least 70 percent of the chickens are contaminated with feces.

B'teiavon!