Lakewood Rabbi, 7 Others Arrested In $1.3M Welfare Scheme

LAKEWOOD, NJ — A prominent Lakewood rabbi, his wife, and at least three other couples were arrested in raids Monday morning connected to allegations of public assistance fraud, authorities have confirmed.

Zalmen Sorotzkin, his wife, Tzipporah Sorotzkin; Mordechai Sorotzkin, brother of Zalmen, and his wife, Rachel Sorotzkin; Mordechai and Jocheved Breskin, and Shimi and Yocheved Nussbaum, all were arrested according to information from the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office and federal prosecutors.

Zalmen Sorotzkin is a rabbi who runs the synagogue Congregation Lutzk and other businesses, according to a report in the Asbury Park Press.

They are accused of underreporting their income by tens of thousands of dollars and receiving more than $1.3 million in public assistance as a result, authorities said.

The raids were headed by the FBI, assisted by the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office and other agencies, and the investigation had been underway for about three years, they said.

Authorities said there would be more arrests in the days and weeks ahead. The scale of the alleged public assistance fraud may well top several millions of dollars, authorities said.

Image via Shutterstock