The involvement of the US Attorney’s Public Corruption unit in the arrest of Ofer Biton portends more arrests and much broader charges to come.
Ofer Biton
Former Aide To Rabbi Yoshiyahu Yosef Pinto Charged With Immigration Fraud
Involvement of US Attorney’s Public Corruption unit in the arrest of Ofer Biton portends more arrests and much broader charges to come.
Shmarya Rosenberg • FailedMessiah.com
A former aide to Rabbi Yoshiyahu Yosef Pinto, the Israeli “kabbalist” who has offices and a home in New York City, has been arrested and charged with immigration fraud.
Ofer Biton allegedly lied about the source of $500,000 he was using to invest in a US business under a government program that grants green cards and sometimes citizenship to foreigners who invest in US business.
Biton was the chief fundraiser for US Representative Michael Grimm, (R- Staten Island), bringing in millions of dollars from Pinto devotees for Grimm. Many of the donors have since reportedly admitted to the US Attorney that the they violated campaign finance laws when making those donations.
Even though Biton was indicted on immigration fraud charges, the US Attorney’s Public Corruption unit is involved in Biton’s arrest and had a representative at the US Attorney’s press conference on Biton’s arrest.
The criminal complaint against Biton (please see below) contains a disclaimer from the FBI agent who made it. The disclaimer states that only enough evidence to sustain probable cause has been presented and that there is more evidence that is not contained in the complaint.
Biton was arrested earlier this month. He was arraigned in Brooklyn on Friday and is being held in the Metropolitan Detention Center without bail.
On immigration forms filed with the government, Biton claimed that a large portion of the money for his US business came from a loan made by a friend.
The criminal complaint, while not specifically detailing what the government believes to be the real source of Biton’s money, alludes to sources that are much less benign than Biton’s friend – money laundering and extortion.
The government has an ongoing open investigation into Biton’s activities, including allegations that Biton and 5WPR’s head, Ronn Torossian, embezzled millions of dollars from Pinto’s charities and extorted money from Pinto and others.
Torossian denies any involvement in these alleged extortions and in the alleged embezzlement, if those crimes took place. He has not, so far, been indicted.
The New York Times reports that attorneys who saw the criminal complaint believe that the charges have been “narrowly drawn to preserve Mr. Biton’s ability to become a government witness and cooperate against other possible defendants.…By focusing strictly on the immigration fraud and not on other areas where Mr. Biton might have criminal exposure, the government may be ensuring that it minimizes the amount of potentially incriminating material it ultimately has to make public about Mr. Biton, since that material could be used by other defendants to attack his credibility or motives.…”
Pinto is a controversial figure who has been linked to questionable and even illegal conduct in both Israel and the US. He leads and extravagant lifestyle paid for by his charities. One of his Israel charities was recently caught illegally selling food that was donated to it. The food was meant to feed Holocaust survivors. Instead, it was sold and the money disappeared into Pinto’s web of charities – many of who pay the salaries and support the lavish lifestyles of Pinto and his family.
The Criminal Complaint Against Biton as a PDF file:
Download Criminal Complaint US v Ofer Biton 8-2012
Related Posts: Pinto Index.
[Hat Tips: WSC, Devorah, OCR, Rebitzman, Tom, Charles.]