Tiffany Hsu writes for the LAT:
The leader of an Orthodox Jewish sect was arrested Wednesday after authorities unsealed a sweeping 37-count indictment alleging that he operated a decade-long tax fraud and money laundering scheme stretching from Israel through New York to downtown Los Angeles’ jewelry district, authorities said.
Grand Rabbi Naftali Tzi Weisz, head of the Spinka religious group, and his executive assistant, Gabbai Moseh E. Zigelman, are accused of soliciting "tens of millions of dollars" in contributions to Spinka charities while secretly promising to refund up to 95% of contributors’ donations, federal prosecutors said. The contributors then illegally claimed tax deductions on their bogus donations.
Weisz and Zigelman calculated in January that Zigelman alone had solicited nearly $9 million in 2006, with a $700,000 profit for Spinka after donors were repaid, according to the indictment.
Spinka Jews are members of the Hasidic group within Orthodox Judaism. The sect originated in Romania and has a large population in Israel, Europe and Brooklyn, N.Y., where Weisz and Zigelman reside.
Six others have been charged: Yaacov Zeivald, 43, of Valley Village; Yosef Nachum Naiman, 55, of Los Angeles; Alan Jay Friedman, 43, of Los Angeles; and Joseph Roth, 66, of Tel Aviv.
Law enforcement seek Los Angeles diamond merchant Moshe Arie Lazar, 60, and Tel Aviv attorney Jacob Ivan Kantor, 71. They are believed to be in Israel.
Five Spinka charities in Brooklyn are also targeted: Yeshiva Imrei Yosef, Yeshivath Spinka, Central Rabbinical Seminary, Machne Sva Rotzohn and Mesivta Imrei Yosef Spinka. The indictment says the charities made out false receipts for phony donations and got money laundering fees.
Spinka is the name of a Hasidic group within Orthodox Judaism. The group originated in a town called S?pân?a (Yiddish: Spinka), Maramure?, Romania, near the Hungarian border.
- Video of Grand Rabbi Berish Horowitz, Spinka Rebbe of Keap st. and Bedford ave. in Williamsburg, celebrating Sukkos
- Video clips of Grand Rabbi Meir Eleazar Weiss, the Spinka Rebbe of 18th avenue in Boro Park, celebrating Sukkos
- Video of a Wedding of scions of the Spinka dynasty, with the participation of several Spinka Rebbes
- Spinka Tax Scheme
