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Another six Lakewood, New Jersey couples were charged Wednesday with welfare fraud, bringing to 26 the number of people implicated since last week in the multimillion-dollar scandal. At the heart of the charges is the allegation that they all, in one way or another, failed to report or otherwise concealed significant income that would have made them ineligible for the assistance programs in which they enrolled. In total, state and federal prosecutors have said the families collected more than $2.4 million in benefits. The Ocean County Prosecutor's Office identified those charged Wednesday as Eliezer, 33, and Elkie, 31, Sorotzkin; Samuel, 45, and Esther, 44, Serhofer; Yisroel, 37, and Rachel, 34, Merkin; Jerome Menchel, 33, and Mottel Friedman, 30; Tzvi, 35, and Estee, 34, Braun; and Moshe, 30, and Nechama, 27, Hirschmann.They allegedly obtained nearly $400,000 in Medicaid, food and heating benefits fraudulently. It wasn't immediately clear if they had attorneys to comment on their behalf. The charges have shaken Lakewood, whose population tripled since 1980 as the Orthodox Jewish population there surged. The town is now one of New Jersey's largest as a result.Among those arrested since the crackdown began are a rabbi and the former director of a religious special-needs school. Yitzchock and Sora Kanarek, Chaim and Liatt Ehrman, and William and Faigy Friedman were arrested late June 27.Prosecutors say the three couples misrepresented their income and then collected more than $674,000 in benefits. Yitzchock Kanarek formerly ran Yeshiva Oros Yisroel, which catered to kids with special needs who could not be accommodated at other religious schools.Four other couples were arrested June 26 for allegedly defrauding public assistance programs of more than $1.3 million in benefits.
This fraud and stealing shit is just the tip of the iceberg in Lakewood. Bank on it.
When I think of people who desperately needed such benefits and were stalled or turned down, this crap pisses me off. Throw the book at them, throw away the key.
