Jewish American Heritage Month

Posted By richards on November 13, 2014

Satmar Family Busted in Mortgage and Welfare Scam By Josh Nathan-Kazis

Published November 13, 2014.

They told the banks they were millionaires, and the welfare agencies that they were broke.

Fifteen members of a prominent Satmar Hasidic family were charged in a sprawling fraud case in New York on Thursday, accused of lying to obtain $20 million in mortgages while also receiving hundreds of thousands of dollars in public benefits.

The indictment was accompanied by arrests of 13 members and associates the Rubin family in Williamsburg, Kiryas Joel, and Monsey.

As alleged, the scheme carried out by the Rubins and others ripped off banks, welfare programs, and taxpayers, U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said in a statement. It ranged from 2004 to 2014, from Brooklyn to Harlem to Orange County, and the individuals involved alternately played the parts of prince or pauper, depending on which scam was being perpetrated.

Family members allegedly provided false information to obtain $20 million in mortgages, then failed to pay most of them back. They used the money to pay credit card debts, their own home mortgage payments, and to fund other real estate projects.

At the same time, seven family members are accused of lying to receive hundreds of thousands of dollars in Medicaid and food stamps.

According to the indictment, Yehuda Rubin, an organizer of the scheme, claimed an income of just $180 a month along with his wife Rachel Rubin to qualify for public benefits while at the same time claiming a joint income of $31,000 a month to qualify for a loan.

Another defendant, Samuel Rubin, claimed an income of $200 a week and $0 in financial resources while applying for public benefits. On a loan application, he claimed $350,000 in annual income and a $10 million net worth.

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$20M Hasidic Fraud Suspects Claimed To Be Millionaires and Paupers at Same Time

Category: Hasidic
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