{"id":3740,"date":"2008-08-15T07:48:10","date_gmt":"2008-08-15T15:48:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lukeford.net\/blog\/?p=3740"},"modified":"2008-08-15T08:13:40","modified_gmt":"2008-08-15T16:13:40","slug":"the-rabbi-the-do-gooder-the-lost-100-million","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lukeford.net\/blog\/?p=3740","title":{"rendered":"The Rabbi, the Do-Gooder, The Lost $100 Million"},"content":{"rendered":"

From the WSJ<\/a>:<\/p>\n

\n

Rabbi Chaim Silver of the B’nai Israel Congregation in Norfolk, Va., says members have called him often with a question about a congregant: "Can I trust Joseph Shereshevsky? I am planning to invest a lot of money with him."<\/p>\n

The rabbi assured them: "He is the kindest, most generous, trustworthy man."<\/p>\n

Rabbi Silver and a number of Orthodox Jews were shocked by Monday’s arrest of Mr. Shereshevsky and a business partner at WexTrust Capital, a Chicago-based private-equity firm. Federal prosecutors in New York charged them with raising more than $250 million through a Ponzi scheme — mainly from Orthodox Jews.<\/p>\n

\"Joseph<\/a>

\nJoseph Shereshevsky (left) speaks to partner Steven Byers at an event in 2006.<\/span><\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n
\n

Mr. Shereshevsky is the son of a prominent rabbi named Chaim Shereshevsky, who is now deceased. Investors say they were disarmed by Mr. Shereshevsky’s faith, his endorsement by Rabbi Silver, and his reputation as a philanthropist. Mr. Shereshevsky supported medical research, schools, and made headlines<\/a> by sending a private jet to Jamaica to rescue an Orthodox teen who said he was being abused at a reform school.<\/p>\n

Using a network of mortgage brokers and salespeople, the firm also raised money from non-Jews. Tim Moore, a 39-year-old biomedical engineer in Virginia, borrowed against his home to invest $140,000 in WexTrust.<\/p>\n

“I don’t make much money, so I worked nights for six years to raise extra money,” says Mr. Moore, who has a 3-year-old child. “Now I have to sell my dream house, or lose it, because I can’t afford the payments.”<\/p>\n

According to Rabbi Silver, nearly half the congregation’s 150 families live in that neighborhood. He had seven children and four grandchildren, and was known as kind and soft-spoken.<\/p>\n

If someone from out of town was passing through and contacted the synagogue for a place to stay, the Shereshevskys opened their doors, Rabbi Silver says.<\/p>\n

“He pays people’s mortgages, pays to keep loved ones in a nursing home,” Rabbi Silver says. “People trust him — and you do business with people you trust.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

From the WSJ: Rabbi Chaim Silver of the B’nai Israel Congregation in Norfolk, Va., says members have called him often with a question about a congregant: "Can I trust Joseph Shereshevsky? I am planning to invest a lot of money … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4842],"tags":[1276,11279,1085,11280,6752,11229],"class_list":["post-3740","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sharashefsky","tag-federal-prosecutors","tag-nai-israel-congregation","tag-orthodox-jews","tag-private-equity-firm","tag-rabbi-chaim","tag-rabbi-silver"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t