Former Councilman's First Appearance On Theft Charges Is June 21

FREEHOLD, N.J. — The former Red Bank councilman who has been charged with theft of funds from the Red Bank Education Foundation while treasurer will make his first appearance in Superior Court at 9:30 a.m. June 21, the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office confirmed Tuesday.

Hazim Yassin, 32, now of the Lincroft section of Middletown, has been charged with third-degree theft by unlawful taking, according to a statement released Monday by Acting Monmouth County Prosecutor Lori Linskey.

Yassin, whose one term on the Red Bank Council ended last year, "vigorously denies the charges," according to his lawyer Robert A. Honecker.

He (Yassin) never intentionally diverted any funds from the foundation," Honecker said when reached for comment Monday.

An investigation by the prosecutor's Financial Crimes and Public Corruption Bureau was initiated earlier this year, after the Red Bank Education Foundation performed a financial audit and identified a series of unauthorized withdrawals from its bank account that could not be reconciled – including four made in 2020, when the foundation was inactive due to the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.