Yaakov Weingarten - convicted of major charity fraud - must pay $522,000

Times of Israel   A Brooklyn man who pleaded guilty to felony tax fraud in an Israeli charities scam was ordered to pay more than a half-million dollars in a civil suit. 

The judgment against Yaakov Weingarten, 53, and his wife, Rivka, was handed down Wednesday in Kings County Supreme Court, according to a news release from New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman. 

The Weingartens must give $360,000 to UJA-Federation of New York and pay $162,000 in civil fines and penalties. He also was barred from fundraising for nonprofits.

Weingarten pleaded guilty to tax fraud in May for raising funds for phony Jewish nonprofit organizations. He was sentenced to five years’ probation after paying $90,685 in restitution to New York State.

According to Schneiderman’s office, Weingarten and his associates bilked thousands of North American donors with claims that he was collecting money for Israeli charitable purposes such as emergency medical services and programs for terror victims, sick children and the poor. He also failed to report his income on tax returns.[...]