Attorney General Eric Schneiderman sued Yaakov Weingarten, his wife Rivka Weingarten, and two of Weingarten's principal employees, David Yifat and Simon Weiss, in Kings County Supreme Court. Their last known addresses were in Brooklyn, except for Weiss, who lived in Queens, according to the lengthy complaint.
Also sued are at least 19 entities Weingarten has run for at least the past five years - some of them nonprofits, some corporations organized under the Religious Corporations Law - to prey on a "vulnerable public's charitable instincts, and in particular the charitable impulses that many persons of the Jewish faith have for Israel," New York says in the complaint.
Weingarten and his employees "use deceptive and highly aggressive tactics to raise millions of dollars from donors," the lawsuit states, "ostensibly for Israeli charitable causes such as Emergency Medical Services programs and programs for terror attack survivors, cancer victims, the sick and the poor. [...]
Also named as defendants are the alleged charities Hatzalah Rescue of Israel Inc.; Shearim Inc., aka Shearin; Bnei Torah Inc.; Chesed L'Yisrael V'Chasdei Yosef Inc.; Yad L'Shabbat Inc.; Hazalah Shomron Inc.; Pulse Foundation Inc. aka Pulse; The Israel Leukemia and Cancer Society; Agudath Chesed Bikur Cholim Israel Inc.; Kupat Reb Meir Baal Haness Bnei Torah Eretz Yisrael Inc.; Congregation Yad L'Shabbat Inc.; Shearim Hayad L'Torah Center for Hatzalah L'Shabbat and Chesed L'Yisrael Inc.; Israel Emergency Center; Magen Israel; Hayad victim Assistance Fund; Lmaan Hatorah; Our Children; Zaka Israel, aka Zaka; Yaldei Simcha Yisrael; and Yad Yisrael
What are the names of the phony charities involved? Are they the same names used for legitimate charities or new names?
ReplyDeleteThey are listed at the end of the article I cited
DeleteAlso named as defendants are the alleged charities Hatzalah Rescue of Israel Inc.; Shearim Inc., aka Shearin; Bnei Torah Inc.; Chesed L'Yisrael V'Chasdei Yosef Inc.; Yad L'Shabbat Inc.; Hazalah Shomron Inc.; Pulse Foundation Inc. aka Pulse; The Israel Leukemia and Cancer Society; Agudath Chesed Bikur Cholim Israel Inc.; Kupat Reb Meir Baal Haness Bnei Torah Eretz Yisrael Inc.; Congregation Yad L'Shabbat Inc.; Shearim Hayad L'Torah Center for Hatzalah L'Shabbat and Chesed L'Yisrael Inc.; Israel Emergency Center; Magen Israel; Hayad victim Assistance Fund; Lmaan Hatorah; Our Children; Zaka Israel, aka Zaka; Yaldei Simcha Yisrael; and Yad Yisrael
I recall our getting hard sell phone calls from at least two of these. "Boiler room" background noises could be heard on the phone. Once, my wife was called by a phony-sounding charity and refused to make any dollar pledge, but we were billed anyhow (didn't pay).
DeleteI see "Zaka" was listed. We've received envelopes with info from two separate US offices claiming to represent Zaka. One of these kept making annoying calls, so maybe that was the phony one.
If true, what a selfish, self centered individual could line his pockets upon the hardships and needs of others.
ReplyDeleteReb Daniel do you know: Did he give any of the money he collected to the charities he said he was collecting for? If so, was he just taking his "cut" from the donations he collected? Thanks.
ReplyDeleteWow I feel so bad for Shimon Weiss, I know him personally, he had nothing to do with it. He got screwed over by his boss big time, I know him fot 8 years he's one of the most honest guys I know. These days you really have to know who ur working for. Simon lives in the ghetto in far rockaway he didn't get a dollar from this this is crazy, there's no way he wad involved.
ReplyDelete