The Tel Aviv District Attorney has just indicted Rabbi Yosef Aronow, the head of Chabad Youth (“Tzeurei Agudat Chasidei Chabad;” Lubavitch Youth), the principal “mainstream” Chabad organization in Israel. Among other things, Aronow allgedly stole donations earmarked for Chabad's Children of Chernobyl charity.
Above: Rabbi Yosef Aronow
Top Chabad Rabbi Indicted For Embezzlement, Fraud
Shmarya Rosenberg • FailedMessiah.com
The Tel Aviv District Attorney has just indicted Rabbi Yosef Aronow, the head of Chabad Youth (“Tzeurei Agudat Chasidei Chabad;” Tzach; Lubavitch Youth), the principal “mainstream” Chabad organization in Israel, NRG reported.
Aronow, who was born in the US, was indicted today on charges of fraud under aggravating circumstances, fraud, breach of trust, tax evasion, falsifying corporate documents and related offenses for allegedly embezzling millions of dollars from the organization, which along with donations, is funded by the government, including from the Ministry of Education.
Aronow and his co-conspirators allegedly kept two sets of books, one to be shown the public and the government and another that showed the organization’s actual income and expenses along with the money they were stealing.
Aronow allegedly opened a private bank account under the name Chabad’s Chernobyl Children and had foreign donors send their donations to that account. But the full donations were allegedly not recorded as such and many were falsely recorded as loans which apparently were ‘repaid’ to Aronow and his associates, not to the donors who supposedly loaned the money.
Aronow also allegedly took a monthly salary from the organization he was not entitled to and told bookkeepers not to record it. He then told the government he was not receiving a salary. He also allegedly ordered bookkeepers to enter false data on employees’ salaries. That information was allegedly used to defraud the government and steal more money for Aronow.
Much of this information has been known to police for at least eight years, but an indictment against Aronow was not filed due to extreme political pressure.
Chabad is a major backer of right-wing politicians, and played a key role in the 1996 election of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for his first term.
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