Central United Talmudic Academy (“CUTA” or “the School”), a yeshiva in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, admitted today in federal court that it was involved in several overlapping frauds, including a multi-million dollar scheme to wrongfully obtain funds designated to feed needy schoolchildren. The proceeding was held before United States District Judge Nicholas G. Garaufis.
CUTA has entered into a three-year deferred prosecution agreement with the government in connection with a criminal information filed today in the Eastern District of New York charging the school with conspiring to commit wire fraud. As part of this agreement, the School has agreed to pay $5 million in penalties, in addition to more than $3 million in restitution it has already paid, to resolve the investigation into the school’s fraudulent conduct.
Elozer Porges, the former executive director of CUTA, and Joel Lowy, Porges’s assistant, both pleaded guilty in March 2018 for their roles in the conspiracy to defraud the government. Porges was sentenced to two-years’ imprisonment in October 2019, while Lowy was sentenced to five-years’ probation, 1000 hours of community service and $98,407.21 in restitution in April 2022.
Breon Peace, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Michael J. Driscoll, Assistant Director-in-Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI), Bethanne M. Dinkins, Special Agent-in-Charge, United States Department of Agriculture, Office of Inspector...
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