California rabbi who was injured in deadly synagogue attack pleads guilty to tax fraud
The founder of a Southern California synagogue that was
attacked last year in what prosecutors have called a deadly hate crime pleaded
guilty Tuesday to a multi-million dollar tax fraud scheme, authorities said.
Rabbi Ysiroel Goldstein, 58, the former director and founder
of the Chabad of Poway, admitted to secretly refunding millions in
contributions to the synagogue and providing donors with fake receipts, federal
prosecutors in San Diego said in a statement.
Prosecutors said at least 20 donors claimed massive tax
deductions while Goldstein kept 10 percent of the contribution and pocketed
more than $500,000, prosecutors said. Tax losses to the Internal Revenue
Service were estimated at more than $1.5 million in eight years.
Prosecutors said Goldstein was under investigation for the
scheme on April 27, 2019, when officials say 19-year-old John T. Earnest opened
fire on the Chabad, killing one longtime worshiper and injuring three,
including Goldstein, who lost his right index finger.
After the shooting, Goldstein offered a heart-wrenching
account of the attack and a powerful message to his congregation: “We are a
Jewish nation that will stand tall. We will not let anything or anyone take us
down. Terrorism like this will not take us down.”
In a statement Tuesday, the Chabad said “that was the Rabbi
Goldstein the world came to know.”
“Yet, we’ve since learned that Rabbi Goldstein violated the
law, contradicted what our synagogue stands for, and transgressed the very
moral and ethical rules of the Torah he taught,” the statement said.
After learning of the allegations against Goldstein last
year, the Chabad launched an internal review and removed him from his duties.
He was also dismissed by the Chabad-Lubavitch Headquarters as a representative
of the movement, the statement said.
“How do we reconcile this heartbreaking reality with the
good Rabbi Goldstein accomplished during his decades of service? How do we
separate his unethical and unlawful behavior from his many positive
contributions to our community? We will surely struggle with these questions
for a long time to come,” the statement said.
Lawyers for Goldstein did not immediately respond to a
request for comment Tuesday evening.
Goldstein pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud the United
States and commit wire fraud, prosecutors said. He faces a maximum sentence of
five years in prison, prosecutors said.
Five of Goldstein’s associates pleaded guilty to wire fraud,
money laundering, filing a false tax return and other crimes.
Comments
Post a Comment