The Trump Effect? – New Jersey authorities expose 'Special Treatment for Jews' in welfare fraud investigation
By Carolyn Yeager
AS i SAID IN MY PREVIOUS POST, "Stop Special Treatment for Jews", examples of Jewish special privilege are easy to find. They are ubiquiitous. And indeed, an excellent example appeared immediately after I posted that article. I mentioned it in the comments, and now am giving it fuller treatment - special treatment, if you will.
The following are quotes from two news articles by New Jersey 101.5 about the reaction of the good citizens of Lakewood, NJ to the news of the fraudulent activity, which many have been aware of all along. The quoted material is indented; my comments are not.
June 28, 2017, by Adam Hochron
LAKEWOOD – They were warned.
Two years ago, before state and federal authorities arrested 14 people this week on charges of scamming welfare benefits, prosecutors held a public meeting to warn township residents about avoiding this type of crime.
Rabbi Moshe Zev Weisberg, a member of the Lakewood Vaad, a local orthodox Jewish council serving as a bridge to other government agencies [welfare assistance], said close to a thousands people attended a meeting in 2015 with representatives of the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office.
“They wanted to alert the community that they've come across certain issues that are of concern for us and just want everyone to be extremely careful when you're dealing with these programs, Weisberg said. “If information is misrepresented or fraudulent or something like that, there are penalties to it. [In other words, authorities knew in 2015 – 2 years ago - that the fraud and theft was going on, but gave the “Jewish community” a heads up to stop it!]
Weisberg said in the years since that meeting, leaders in the community have continued to reinforce the message.
“We knew for awhile that there were issues out there, and as far as the community leadership has gone, we've always encouraged people that […] whatever programs they're getting involved with, they should certainly be honest and forthright and transparent and all of that.”
Authorities have not explained why they had focused on Lakewood, a municipality known for its large concentration of orthodox Jewish residents.
Three more couples arrested on Tuesday, June 27, two of whom had earned millions of dollars in annual income as of 2014.
But years later, an investigation involving a multitude of state and federal agencies resulted in the high-profile arrests Monday of four couples, including a rabbi, and the arrests on Tuesday night of three couples on charges that they collected Medicaid, food stamps, housing subsidies and other benefits from 2009 to 2015. Two of the couples who collected these benefits as late as 2014 had earned millions of dollars in annual income, the U.S. Attorney's Office said Monday.
Law enforcement officials say even more people may face charges.
The rabbi, according to form, criticized the criticism expressed by Lakewood residents against “his community.”
“Don't talk about 'they' or 'them' or 'those people.' That is offensive. That is hate speech and that's what really concerns us really, that the genie is out of the bottle and it's extremely difficult to control.”
Oh, yeah, the genie is out of the bottle for sure. What to do? As always, blame the white folks and social media for “antisemitism.”
In a time of social media, Weisberg said the news of the past week “is a catalyst for people that are basically haters, anti-Semitic, have other chips on their shoulders. They come out of the woodwork in all kinds of forms and just blast the whole Jewish community.” […] “If there are individuals that fell short then we need to deal with that, but painting the community as being immoral is unforgivable.” He added, “I'm not justifying or apologizing for any wrongdoing, [but[ if there are people that did take advantage of the system, we certainly feel it was shameful and they shouldn't have done it.” [Avoids saying there should be legal repercussions, doesn't he.]
Here he seeks to spread the blame around:
Weisberg said government bureaucracy also plays a role in issues the community is facing when it comes to government benefits.
“I only have the highest praise for the Ocean County Board of Social Services and other agencies involved, [but] gien the resources and responsibilities they have, they don't have the staff of the training to go into very intricate questions from thousands of people with all kinds of complicated financial situation.”
“We don't look at them as the enemy, we look at them as our partners and our friends.”
Ha, I'll say - partners and friends. He also brings up the “complicated rules and regulations” that his community should be forgiven for “not getting right the first time.”
In the second article: Why did prosecutors warn Lakewood about avoiding welfare fraud?
Unnamed couple who were charged in 2015 with collecting government benefits to which they were not entitled have still not been sentenced, their case still unresolved.
LAKEWOOD – Authorities in Ocean County are defending a 2015 meeting they held to warn hundreds of residents against scamming welfare.
The meeting was prompted after a Lakewood couple {pictured above) and others in the county were charged with collecting government benefits to which they were not entitled.
Two years later, authorities arrested 14 more people in this community after an investigation into the owner of a beeper store, who pleaded guilty to running an unlicensed money-transmitting business that transmitted millions of dollars, revealed ties to some suspects charged this week, officials said.
After announcing the first round of arrests on Monday, Ocean County Prosecutor Joseph Coronato pointed out that the community had been warned in 2015 about abusing welfare services. This prompted readers to question why prosecutors would give potential scammers a head's up.
Below are some of the comments that appeared at the New Jersey 101.5 story and at Facebook, selected by me as the most interesting. Not a single comment excused or defended “the community” for its actions. They are worth reading – Gentiles are mad and fed up.
Karen Ann Campbell Seriously! They warned there would be more "raids" this week, allowed the people they were arresting to call babysitters for their children before they took them in. Always special treatment.
Anna Hackett That's the whole point of doing a investigation to get as many people possible without warning. So they warned them 2 years ago and are still warning them .Federal needs to handle this. .and tell all the people who warned this community who works for the county their resignations are due.
ChrisnLori Morrison The point of the meeting 2 years ago was to inform the large influx of people who were being encouraged to move to Lakewood, I believe the term was "Pioneers" Most of the elected officials in Lakewood are Jewish. There are 35,000 school age children but only 5000 attend public school. The reports of more arrests came from a source who was not allowed to give information. Time to make people accountable for their actions, starting at the top.
Tom Lanzano If the public knew this was going on for years, why did it take so long for the authorities to figure it out!! How about that community not getting marriage licenses and claiming they are single parents with 6,7 or 8 kids. How about the school board having only people from this community on it, meanwhile not one child from this community is in the public school system!! I can go on and on!!!!
Joe Mufalli This is a systemic problem in this community. And it's generational. The real story here is what finally got the authorities to say "game over"?
Christine Randazzo D'Onofrio It's about time The residents of Lakewood in the Jewish Community are audited. How do they afford all those oversized houses and how do they afford all the things they have and yet Lakewood is bankrupt? The town is a crowded mess. After working there a few years, I hope all the questions are being answered and all the cheats are found out.
Jane Herron Now saying 'they" to refer to a collective group of accused scammers is hate speech. Give me a break.
George Worthington My friend who is Jewish told me over 30 years ago how the Ultra Orthodox or Hasidics were abusing the welfare system, my question is, why did it take the state and Feds so long to do something?
Chris Kisseberth Here is a clue... if a home is owned under an L L C then in my opinion that's a red flag. The reason for LLC and not "John Smith" is to hide the assets
Laura McHale So anyone that criticizes that is outside their faith is automatically anti- Semitic...people are standing up and saying something because this has been known, there has been a blatant abuse of the system...unbelievable. When you lie, cheat, and steal from people...you do not get to play the "victim" card because they criticize you for doing it!
John Farese Might be the changing of the guard finally with the abuse of the system !! Let's see them start getting honest jobs and join their community instead of isolating themselves and ruining towns !!!
John Currie You wouldn't need as much assistance if you just stopped producing children like an assembly line.
JoAnne Hanvey Granato Are you kidding, they were warned?! Explain this, why won't orthodox live with people other than their own, why won't they send their 15 children to public school? Why is this even allowed? Every single one of them knew what they were doing and they would do it again. I hope they go to federal prison and have their assets seized, because they have plenty. If they want to live this way, go to israel.
Elizabeth Ann Don-Trainor Thank God the FBI is coming down on this group. Tip of the iceberg and I swear 90% of this group has defrauded the govt. . All who defrauded the govt should be punished full extend of the law. Put them in jail, no special treatment---they will have to eat what is supplied, wear prison clothes----etc.. There should be given no breaks [...] All of us regular hardworking people do not owe these people anything who are healthy able bodied people who can work.
Donald Peter Didn't take long for the "anti-Semitic" card to be thrown around, did it. When the same group of people continue to be "persecuted" all throughout history and everywhere you go it's time to acknowledge that it's not EVERYONE else, it's YOU ! Even the Israeli citizens in Israel are fed up with your group.
Jeff W Wienaker OK, its wrong , very wrong... but as I understand the scam, where they get married under their religion but no marriage license, then therefore its not a valid marriage. ... then technically according to the law, applying for section 8 housing and assistance as a single unemployed mother is not lying. Don't get me wrong, these people need to repay the system because that system is designed for people who really need the assistance.
See also here.
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Lying, Cheating and Stealing
The people this article is about are said to have lied, cheated and stolen.
The difference between these people and those truly qualified beneficiearies is that the latter group isn't lying. They're still cheating and stealing - with the government's knowing assistance.
Of course, there are a lot of
Of course, there are a lot of non-Jewish people in this country who lie, cheat and steal. The difference between those people and these people, in my book, is the size and scale of their cheating but also all the other harmful stuff they do at the same time.
If you read the linked news articles, you know that Lakewood is the fastest growing town in New Jersey ... because of the influx of Hasidic Orthodox Jews who are forming (have formed) an influential electoral bloc there. Everyone agrees they dominate the seats on the Public School Board even though none send their children to public school. They all send their many children to private Jewish schools, which apparently is very expensive for them. Why then do they want to sit on the public school board??
For control. Their intention is to control the town government and agencies so they can be used for their community's benefit. Right?
Not only are there a lot of these orthodox Jews in the town - they have a lot of children which means they expand faster than other groups do. This is a form of occupation. If I lived in Lakewood NJ, had an investment in a home and a family there, I certainly wouldn't like it and many of the residents appear not to like it.
What to do? From the photos, these people look, and no doubt feel, repulsive to the regular American residents of Lakewood. They are a foreign and unassimilated element. Their intentions are not good. So there are multiple problems with them. It isn't a matter of "live and let live" when you're dealing with people like this. They are your enemy, but they put on a pose of holding you to a moral standing regarding them that they don't live up to themselves.
In short, these are not your normal folks and they will never be true Americans. There is only one place they belong and that is in Israel.
Half of Lakewood children receive government aid
Guess which half.
http://www.app.com/story/news/investigations/watchdog/2017/06/30/lakewood-welfare-half-children-get-assistance-families-panic-after-arrests/438839001/
LAKEWOOD - Welfare is so widespread in the township that half of all children live in homes that receive some form of government aid, an Asbury Park Press analysis of census data found.
But one statistic stands out among all other municipalities in the state. There are 10,000 more children in households with married couples in Lakewood receiving food, income or state aid than the next closest town.
Of the 43,600 children under 18 years of age in Lakewood, 18,200 with married parents receive government assistance. Newark, the largest city in the state, is second with 7,800 children with married parents receiving aid, according to the Census Bureau's 2015, 5-year average American Community Survey. Newark has a total of 70,669 children, and 37,965 children in households receiving public assistance, the data show.
That poverty indicator is telling in two ways: Lakewood has a strong family tradition with many of it residents living in a two-parent household with young children, yet most of those families can't make ends meet without government help.
This is all due to the orthodox Jews who live there, with more coming. They are not good citizens.
[Rabbi] Weisberg said that many young Jewish families collect public assistance as their families grow.
The men are often studying in yeshivas and have moderate incomes, if any income at all, he said. Census data shows that 3,302 people in Lakewood between the ages of 25 and 34 – 21.8 percent of everyone in that age range – are enrolled in school, most of those likely being yeshiva students.
[...]
"The average family feels it an absolute necessity to send their children to private schools," Weisberg said, adding that large families are also a part of Jewish culture. "They really want to build a large family with lots of happy children.
"Financial considerations come second," he said.
To make ends meet, many of these families rely on public assistance, Weisberg said.
Oy vey. Whatever they want they should have, right? They expect to be subsidized by the Gentile taxpayers. Considering their "poverty" (while living in large new homes and having high child-care expenses), they don't pay taxes either.
Half of Lakewood's 100K residents are Orthodox Jews
This is a news report from March by the Jewish Telegraph Agency:
NEW YORK (JTA) – The mayor of a town adjacent to the Orthodox Jewish stronghold of Lakewood, New Jersey, says a comment he made about Jewish home buyers invading his town does not make him anti-Semitic.
Thomas Kelaher, the mayor of Toms River, was quoted in a recent Bloomberg News story as saying that Orthodox Jews are trying to buy homes in his town and warning local homeowners that if they don’t sell, they will be the only non-Orthodox left.
“It’s like an invasion,” Kelaher told Bloomberg. “It’s the old throwback to the 1960s, when blockbusting happened in Philadelphia and Chicago with the African-American community — ‘I want to buy your house. You’ll be sorry if you don’t [sell].’ It scares the hell out of people.”
Kelaher later told the Asbury Park Press that his remark was taken out of context, and that if he indeed used the word “invasion,” it was to denote how Toms River residents feel.
“To suggest that I am anti-Semitic is ridiculous,” Kelaher told the Asbury Park Press. “We have a lovely relationship with the Jewish community in Toms River.” [Oh sure.]
Lakewood is home to one of America’s largest yeshivas, Beth Medrash Govoha, and is among the fastest-growing Jewish communities in the United States. It also has the highest birthrate in New Jersey at 44 births per 1,000 residents. More than half of Lakewood’s 95,000 residents are Orthodox Jews, locals say.
With the town bursting at the seams, Orthodox Jews are seeking to buy homes in nearby areas, including the North Dover neighborhood of Toms River. Last month, the Toms River Town Council enacted an ordinance creating a five-year “cease-and-desist” zone to bar door-to-door solicitations. The town already had a no-knock registry, but locals said it was failing to keep real estate agents away.
Why not RICO charge? Can you
Why not RICO charge? Can you imagine if these were blacks, hispanic, Mexican or even Italian, would they get a warning? No they would get thrown under the bus by every newspaper. I've gone to major supermarket in Borough Park, where houses are worth a good deal, pricey cars. I was shocked to see how many Hasidics paid with EBT card. I go to regular supermarkets in my predominantly black neighborhoods, some near projects, and mostly see cash, credit or debit. I can't even name 2 people that I know get food stamps and most people I know are low-income and struggle. I have friend living next to "LLC" house. They purposely gutted house and is letting house rot with mold and disrepair so my friend can get tired and sell his house to them. I love and respect Jews, but these are organized crimes by many in a particular religious group.
Organized crime
Thanks for your comment, Annie. You're right that what they're doing is "organized." Then they call it "a few bad apples" and "antisemitism" when light is shined on it. No one from that community ever turns another one in, or even tells them to stop. The rabbis are the worst offenders of all. But this is one religion the government won't go after along organized crime lines.
How can you love and respect Jews when you know so much about them?