Former Red Bank Councilman Pleads Not Guilty In Theft Charge

RED BANK, N.J. — A former Red Bank councilman, charged with the theft of funds from the Red Bank Education Foundation while treasurer, has pleaded not guilty, his lawyer said yesterday.

Hazim Yassin, 32, now of Middletown, waived his first appearance in Superior Court in Freehold, his lawyer Robert A. Honecker said.

Yassin was charged with third-degree theft by unlawful taking from the nonprofit, according to a statement May 9 by Acting Monmouth County Prosecutor Lori Linskey.

Yassin, whose one term on the Red Bank Council ended last year, "vigorously denies the charges," Honecker has said.

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 during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the prosecutor's office statement.