Haredi Rabbi Sentenced To Year In Slammer For Money Laundering In Solomon Dwek New Jersey Sting

Rabbi Lavel Schwartz was sentenced today to 12 months and one day in prison for conspiring to launder $200,000 to $400,000 in money that he believed to be the proceeds of illegal activities.

Rabbi Lavel Schwartz

Haredi Rabbi Sentenced To Year In Slammer For Money Laundering In Solomon Dwek New Jersey Sting
Shmarya Rosenberg • FailedMessiah.com

Rabbi Lavel Schwartz was sentenced today to 12 months and one day in prison for conspiring to launder $200,000 to $400,000 in money that he believed to be the proceeds of illegal activities.

Schwartz, 61, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Joel A. Pisano to a money laundering conspiracy. Judge Pisano imposed the sentence today in Trenton, New Jersey federal court.

Schwartz admitted that beginning in May 2008, he and his brother, Rabbi Mordchai Fish, met with Solomon Dwek.

Fish and Schwartz agreed to launder and conceal Dwek’s money through a series of haredi charities, also known as gemachs, which Fish controlled or to which he had access.

In exchange for this service, Fish and Schwartz took a fee from each transaction of approximately 10%.

Schwartz admitted that Dwek told him before laundering the money that the money was from illegal businesses, including trafficking in counterfeit goods.

Schwartz also admitted assisting Rabbi Fish and Dwek with counting the cash that had been retrieved from a coconspirator, and admitted to encouraging Dwek to engage in more transactions.

Schwartz admitted engaging in approximately 10 money laundering transactions with Dwek even though he knew the sources of Dwek’s money were illegal. As part of these transactions, Fish helped convert between $200,000 and $400,000 in checks into that amount in cash, minus the 10% fee.

In addition to serving 12 months plus one day in federal prison, Schwartz was also sentenced to three years of supervised release that will begin on his release from prison.

[Hat Tip: The Lion.]

Comments

[David]

At least he is covering his face in shame, unlike most frumma crooks. Most frumma are not ashamed of their crimes.

[JD]

Is Solomon Dreck free or is he playing hide the salami with Bubba.

[ca]

I think most people who commit crimes, frum or otherwise, are ashamed of their actions. Even if that isn't true, there is no reason to say that frum criminals are more likely to be unashamed than non-frum criminals. The highlighting of some that aren't ashamed that happen to be frum is not a basis to make a correlation. It's one thing to point out the bad in the frum community, but some of the vile prejudice by many people commenting here is sad.

[Expatriate Owl]

Too bad he didn't have his black hat with him! He could have used it to cover his face from the cameras.

[ http://failedmessiah.typepad.com/failed_messiahcom/2008/01/dirty-laundry-e.html

http://www.vosizneias.com/66369

[WoolSilkCotton, rock star and sports superstar]

Maybe he's just sneezing.

[Cholov Yishmoel]

Yimach Shmoe!

[S M L]

"....vile prejudice...."

After having had the experience of being on the receiving end of the obvious distaste of certain of the very frum for non-frum Jews such as my wife and myself it's certainly understandable that receipients of such treatment are apt to be less than kindly disposed towards Haredim. As far back as 30 years ago we'd shop in Borlam's on Havemeyer St in Williamsburg for the kind of nice dresses for our daughters that were hard to find in Massachusetts where we lived. The owners would ignore my wife and would send one of their lower-level assistants to wait on her while they attended personally either to frum shoppers who arrived after we did or, more galling, to obviously non-Jewish ones.

This disdainful arrogance breeds dislike in return. You reap what you sow. Is every Haredi person like that? Clearly not however it's human nature to generalize prejudice across an entire group. It doesn't excuse it but it does explain it to some extent.

[ca]

Clearly not however it's human nature to generalize prejudice across an entire group. It doesn't excuse it but it does explain it to some extent.

Posted by: S M L | December 27, 2012 at 07:16 PM

Exactly. I never really understood prejudice or how it works. I learned a lot of the meaning of it here on this site. I started wondering about how people who see me on the street think about me. I started to notice (not often but every so often)a disdain in peoples eyes. It is the burden of being different and outwardly identifiable. I've taken the lesson and try to apply in every day life when dealing with people of different races and religions that people tend to generalize about.

[Isa]

This one was smart

Got down on his knees pled guilty and begged forgiveness

[Simple Jew]

B"H

Dwek is such a lowlife.

I hope he does teshuva.

[Account Deleted]

I suppose his defenders will now claim that it was a bunch of anti-Semites and self-hating Jews who sent him to jail.

[put a square into a hole]

I hope the Square has enough time on his hands to visit all his "friends" in jail.

[S M L]

I started to notice (not often but every so often)a disdain in peoples eyes. It is the burden of being different and outwardly identifiable.

That's doubtless true. A non-frum woman dressed in relatively conservative attire would feel much more of that when walking in a neighborhood in which Haredim dominate. So would a tattooed hipster strolling through Howard Beach. Difference is relative. The best many of us can manage it to be aware of our prejudices and to make sure we don't act on them to the detriment of others.

[Not Surprised]

Any information about the specific "charities" that participated in this. I get tons of requests for charity and try to donate - I'd like to know which ones to avoid.