Lakewood, NJ – In an alleged financial fraud that has ensnared Orthodox Jewish investors from New York to Florida to London, a Lakewood, N.J., businessman is accused of bilking them out of more than $200 million through phony real estate deals, according to complaints made in multiple lawsuits across the country.
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In court papers obtained by The Jewish Week, plaintiffs claim that real estate investor Eliyahu Weinstein, 35, “orchestrated a fraudulent scheme” in which he made false representations – supported by counterfeit and false documents – about where and how their money would be invested, and misappropriated the funds for his own use.
At least one of the complaints alleges that Weinstein, described by some who know him as charismatic, friendly and charming, and hailing from a “yeshivish” family, may have laundered money through New York-area Jewish charities.
The Jewish Week has obtained a copy of a New Jersey federal grand jury subpoena, evidence of an ongoing criminal investigation dating back to last May. To date, Weinstein has not been charged with any crimes.
Among those allegedly defrauded out of the most money are Berish Berger, a prominent member of London’s Orthodox community, and Harvey Wolinetz, a resident of Florida. Both men were wealthy, and one had suffered recent losses of close family members, making them particularly vulnerable in that they were “taken up with personal issues,” according to an attorney involved.
Read the full story at The Jewish Week
Editors Note:This is merely an allegation and no crime charges has been officialy filed, defendants are presumed innocent until proven otherwise.
This is crasy i know people that invested by him $
when will we learn that the beard yishivishness and so mean NOTHING
o not again. When will people learn?
Does bilking mean that he lost money? Some investments go bad like real estate. If he launders money that is between him and the Federal or state etc.
Be wary; whenever a buisiness deal falls through, the investor suspects the one who took money from him as having misrepresented the investment. I would take it all with a grain of salt.
Here we go again!!!!!!! The next chillul h-shm!!!!!!!!!!!! Ad Masai…………..
Not that it makes a big difference to those whose money is gone, compared to Madoff, the amount of money lost is pennies. The only silver lining is that those who invest in these ponzi schemes typically are wealthy yidden who have other money to live on. The real tragedy is when a working man loses his pension and that was his entire savings and he/she has no more time to make it up.
Rabbosai: We are now in an era where we have a new scandal each week, even more than one per week.
Oiy vey a bruch of columbus whats going on nobody learns . there is a sucker born every day i just feel bad for the investors
I know him personally and he has a heart of gold. Investments can go bad. It does not mean that he stole anything just because the investor lost money.
its a non story just bad investments and now they want their money back.
Its hard to feel sorry for the victims of these ponzi schemes. At some point you begin to realize that with the absolute ease of access by any investor today to 100 percent secure investments (in the sense of secure against theft but not against market losses) with such safe firms as Vanguard, Fidelity, etc., those who invest with these yiddeshe ponzi schemes were seeking to obtain “above-market” returns and either knew or should have known the risks. Since you can safely invest without even leaving your home (you can open an account over the internet at any major brokerage) anyone who seeks out these special deals takes the risks and should be prepared to live with the consequences. These are NOT “innocent victims” except of their own stupidity. NO one held a gun to their heads and said give all your money to this ehrlech yid who is also a chashuve askan in the chassidus.
Guys, this is an old news item finally getting some face time.
To all of you who claim its just investments gone bad, most of those court cases started way before the economy tanked! I personally know people who lost monsey by him
my husband invested with this guy. As soon as he did he regretted the whole thing. He saw that something was very fishy. We lost all our savings and i was fearing for my husband’s health. i cant believe a yiddish heart did something like this!!!!!!!
In this case it isn’t about deals that went sour but investments that were never invested not even paid for a ponzi scam just left in pocket
In my safe made out to a family member, who is owed I don’t want to say how much.
You feel sorry guys are the cause. It is a mitvah lefarseim berabim a crook like this. However hard I tried to warn that family member I fell on deaf ears.
Reb Chaim Kresworth OB”M used to be mefarsem these people bby name berabim, to shame them, and to stop people investing in them.
You good heart & a lot of tzedokah people are part of the crime. Tzedakah is when you give your own money not others money that is gezel, chilul hashem & not even a mitvah Haboh beaveirah.
part of of the Ponzi game is to be philanthropist, search the other cases.
There are 2 types of Ponzi { I heard I think on Bloomberg} Sanford set out as a Ponzi. Maddoff started of ligit, but couldn’t admit loss & changed to Ponzi.
From my info this one is a Sanford style.
Stop with the good heart & tzedokah, think about those he robbed & ruined, his courier started in Philly high school went on in Gateshead, do your DD you will find out.
Sorry I can’t stand this he is a big tzadik,garbage,until he took your money.
This man should’ve been caught 6+ yrs ago for promising deals and investments and running after people for money, but when it came to paying back their percentage he suddenly vanished to thin air and threatened you. I knew and waited for G-D to reveal this monstrous thief in jewish garb. All the charm and nice face he showed was a bitter and ugly cover up. May G-D repay him fully for his sick mind.
Business gambling is known type of gambling addiction. The typical business gambler gives richly to charity, as did this man, and lives for the risks and the image, and for the feeling of money coming in and going out. Consider the possibility that this man is a business gambling addict. Not that this excuses his behavior. He could have sought help at any time. So many people saw, and chose not to believe, and not to intervene to stop him. So many Jews, who invested in him in good faith, have been fleeced. And all Jews, and Orthodoxy, are being judged for his deeds. As someone else wrote, the scandals are coming thick and fast. Think. Do you want your deeds revealed for all the world to see? If you see this man’s shame, it perhaps is sent to you, is being sent to all of us, to get us to hold our own deeds up to the light, and do teshuva before they are made public. May HaShem have mercy on us all.
I don’t know Eli personally, but I know his parents. They are tzadikim and whatever happens, they don’t deserve to have their name dragged through the mud. Please remember the family embers of the accused when speaking lashon hara.
I did not mean to insinuate that saying Lashon Hara about the accused is OK, It’s not!
While we need to know about this and from it learn to be more honest in our own businesses, and not to trust every shmo, we should not throw hilchos shmiras halashon away. My point was only that in addition to the family already suffering from the very act and the court proceedings, we don’t need to add to their tzaar by adding boosha from VIN commentors.
what i would like to know, if he was guilty why was he not charged , as its written above i quote: To date, Weinstein has not been charged with any crimes.
the whole thing does not make sense.
Back in the early 1990s I knew people who tried to get me into a “Friends Helping Friends” so-called “investment club” in the mid-Atlantic. Basically, you came to the club’s meetings (all held in Washington, DC because at that time there were fewer business regulations there) and joined by investing a certain amount of money (I think it was $1000), and then get eight friends to come to the meetings to invest the same amount of money. Those friends each get eight friends to invest the same amount of money, and at that point you could “cash out” and start all over again.
I told everyone I knew who approached me that this was an illegal pyramid scheme. A local talk show host was invited to participate by one of his callers, and blew the whistle. The folks who had “cashed out” were given the choice of returning all the money they had won or getting free room and board. Yet for the next month people calling the talk show host complained that he had deprived them of a chance for wealth and prosperity!
No it starts with our yiddisher life styles! we all work hard for our money but need to keep up with the next door neighbors! We invest with people who may start our ehrlicher but down the line they need to pay the bills and life styles! That’s when things fall apart!
This all boils down to the same ”source”. ONE LAWYER CALLING EVERY NEWSPAPER TRYING TO WIN HIS CASE Just as the k4k story was all sheker and full of holes so will all this All a load of nonsense
Lets stop talking L”H all day, he was doing good for a while and then the market took a dive down
Will someone please explain to me why “geniuses” like Berger and Wolinetz would invest 10’s of millions of dollars with a 30 year old investor who has no experience and with NO legal documentation? Berger invested $37 million and he can’t produce a piece of paper proving it. Don’t you think that if someone has that much money to invest, that he would do some due diligence and would hire a lawyer to document the investment? I’m having a hard time mustering sympathy for any of the players in this sordid story.
I believe the problem is that the ehtic of working hard and being happy with what you earn as long as it’s honest – is dead. Indeed such ethic is ridiculed. Everyone has to be a macher, a mover a shaker in order ot be a somebody. There’s nothing wrong with being humble good ol’ plain ehrlicher Yid. You don’t need 2 million dollar mansion to be frum or to show that you “made it.”
I know the situation personally, these are bitter investors who made a lot of $ with Eli and are upset that he can’t produce in this economy. “These were legitimate transactions” and people are talking stupidly with out knowing the facts.
Loshon hora is not good! U know that u should, not speak it not hear it!! May Hashem help all those who were involved with parnasah and gezunt!!
I personally know someone who lost his whole life savings with Weinstein. He got one bs story after the next, all the while weinstein was giving out hundred thousnd dollar tzedaka checks to rabbonim. (why didnt they ask how a young punk could afford to give out money like that?) The aforementioned family has many children and have struggled to keep their heads above water since losing their money with him. In lakewood people have been wondering for years when will a prosecutor finally see through all the smoke and put this guy terrorist away
The grand jury is not investigating investments having gone bad in the economic downturn. Fraud is fraud! We in our community need to understand that there are bad people amongst us too. This same story already happened in the 90’s with devastating affects. It is not only rich people who lose substantial money, but average people, widows and orphans who lose everything they have. Lock him up and throw away the key for he will surely do this again. I for one don’t know who is crazier — the fraudsters or the enablers.
When will people realize that if something seems to be “too good to be true” then it probably is. Make money the old fashioned way. GO TO WORK!
As long as the sun keeps shining, there will be ganuvim, and people to support the ganuvim.
Stop the whining, look out for yourself, give your genious advice to others, but don’t feel like a fool when you get baganvet, because its norma.
The only way that you know is if you experienced being scammed!
stop the loshan horah. remember the editors note. no one has been charged and no charges have been filed anywhere.
Some of you are so silly for saying things like “maybe it was a deal gone bad” or ” if its too good, it can’t be kosher” Let me tell you somethng. I invested with this low life! He showed me “legal” papers. Im in real estate and i know a good deal when I see it. This time I was wrong! I lost hard earned money. I hope one day, with Hashem’s help, to get it back and he will get what he deserves.