Borough Park, NY – Rabbi Yehoshua Balkany, dean of Bais Yaakov of Brooklyn, has been accused by the U.S. Gov. of extorting a Connecticut based hedge fund into paying $3.25 million to schools, one of which is the day school where he serves as dean. Rabbi Balkany was arrested today and released after posting $250,000 bond and approximately $1 million property in equity.
Subscribe to our Daily Roundup Email
In a complaint filed in Manhattan, prosecutors claim that Rabbi Balkany threatened to reveal knowledge of purported illegal trading to the government if donations were not made to the two schools.
In an exclusive interview tonight with VIN News, Rabbi Balkany said that nothing could be farther from the truth, insisting that in the course of a meeting with an unnamed individual at the hedge fund about a legal matter, a general conversation ensued and the topic of charitable contributions made by the hedge fund came up. Rabbi Balkany suggested that given that charitable contributions were being made by the hedge fund to so many worthy institutions, he could recommend two more, naming the two schools.
Rabbi Balkany told VIN News, “I made it very clear to him that the two matters, the legal issue and the charitable donations, were not at all related. My mission in life is to help other Yidden. The idea that I am accused of extorting money is absurd, and ridiculous. I can assure you that did not happen.
The man in question offered to make the donation and I told him point blank that donations have nothing to do with helping in the legal matter. Seven or eight years ago, I was accused of wrongdoing. The government had to back off then, and this will happen now too. This is only a complaint, not an indictment and I fully believe that with the help of Hashem I will be totally vindicated.”
I was in the court today listening to the complaint.
It was a purim shpiel story.
I feel bad for Rabbi Balkany because he will now have to spend money on lawyers counteracting this complaint.
Rabbi Balkany is one of the greatest Ballie chesed and is a well respected rabbi Who works tirelesly on behalf of the klal
Bruch Vhatzlocha
Rabbi balkany is a honest yid I’m sure the truth will come out
Oy vey.. Why does this always have to happen? Scandal after scandal.. Let us learn some mussar
he is a tzadik
and a rosh hakol in may shulls
keep it up Rabbi Thank you from all of us
I guess as they say, no good dead goes unpunished!
Here we go again. The government is looking to burn some moire Rabbis. Rabbi Balkany is a TZADIK, with a lots of political connections in Washington. They are trying to put fear in the Jewish community. America is not such a democracy like most of us would like to think. If it was a Rabbi that we don’t know, everyone would come out with negative comments, but Rabbi balkany we all know. He would never do anything to be morally wrong. He was accused years ago, and all got dismissed. I guess they try to go after him like they did after Gutty Junior, LAHAVDILL.
Its 2003 all over again. They dropped the charges then- they will drop the complaint now
We are neighbors, He is a tzadik, all he does is invite people from all over to his house for shabbos, he is very into kiruv… GOOD LUCK…. YOU WILL WIN>
How much more can Harav Aron Rubashkin handle…if I am not mistaking… Rabbi Balkany is his son in law
rabbi balkany is special man i just met him in jerusalim and he is a big talmud chochem and magid .he should of stayed there so he would not have been in this mess .hashem should help him clean his name and the bad people should go to hell like haman.. amen
Make no mistake Rabbi Balkany is one of the most powerful jewish advocates out there on a federal level!
I’m sure he will be fine and I have no doubt he will prevail!
Number 1-11
I put my bets on the Feds. 26 pages of summmary transcripts of recorded telephone calls including in which the good rabbi is heard and seen trying to shake down a member of the tribe and at the same time sullying the name of YTV does not sound too promising for the good rabbi.
the large amount of the donation does raise some questions, to say the least, as to the propreity of the conduct. I never saw a business giving $3.5 million donation.
Even if he is innocent this is a terrible chillul Hashem
Anyone who can say about himself “My mission in life is to help other Yidden.” scares the hell out of me.
Anyone ever hear their rosh yeshiva say that about himself (especially in public)?
BiYemei Purim Eilu, Venahapoch hu!
All you have to do is read the complaint (on line) and read the quotes word for word that Balkany said on recorded phone calls with the FBI and the hedge fund attorneys–it is beyond clear that he was linking the 4 million dollars to his convincing the inmate not to inform on the hedge fund. How does a rational person call the FBI and implicate himself and them in an extortion scheme? His power went to his head. He felt immune from getting caught, especially after getting off the last time. Folks, read the exact quotes, Balkany’s own words. Corrupt, corrupt and corrupt!! He will sit this time, and probably for longer than you think.
He is a very special man and saved tons of neshamos that no other snobby school wanted to take and educate. Many of his graduates lead normal lives today because of him.
According to the criminal complaint, there are recordings of Rabbi Balkany’s conversations with both the hedge fund attorneys and the Federal Prosecutors office.
I personally know Rabbi Balkany very well and he is an exceptional ball chesed. If people would only know how much this man does, the chesed that he does…. I’m absolutely positive that he will be aqquited from the charges and kvod shamayim will be rightfully restored.
This is trumped up a new charge by authorities that are jealous and desire to embarrass Rabbi Balkany. he was accused a number of times of all sorts of wrong-doing and each time he was fully and publicly EXONERATED. There are elements within the government that hate him because he is more effective, politically, than many government officials. They hate him. They’re jealous of him. When he alone, single-handidly, guided the school voucher movement, certain newspapers accused him of personally benefiting. Nothing was further from the truth and he was proven to be a dedicated servant of the community and not ever having sought any personal benefit. He will again be fully exonerated. You can bet on it and take it to the bank.
This doesn’t happen to you and I. This usually happens to people who they have something on. The feds are relentless. If they have something on him he is in big trouble.
Rabbi Balkany is one of a kind special man who gives away 24/7 for others. His house is open all hours for any needy person. He there for hundreds of teens at risk like a father. More Yidden Like the Rabbi will bring moshiacg sooner.
Rabbi, Hold strong.
We are behind you 100 precent.
They will fail like they did the other time with there faces in the mud!
harav balkany please sue the united states of america for a billion dollars for 2003,2010
Look, they got the guy on tape. So his defenders have only two options.
1) The tapes are fake.
2) It was entrapment.
We’ve heard these before. Why don’t we just admit it: in certain circles it is considered acceptable to cheat the government for a “good cause”. And if you get caught you scream, “Anti-semitism!”
when there is 1. 25 million $ bond + equity, The Aveire smells no good.
Why do people that call “themselves” Raboniom get involved in garbage
transactions. Stay away from garbage and you will not smell.
Your VIN comments call the Bais Yaakov Principal and Fund raiser ,Tsadik. They have no idea who is and who was a Tsadik.
A few girls eating at your Shabos table doesn’t make you for a
Tsadik, neither when your children drive a new Rolls Bentley
The Chazon Ish, The Belzer, Satmarer, Gerer Rebbes were Tsadikim.
The Tsdaik became a very cheap word especially when you’re getting verty close to Chilul Hashem
Please be more choosy with the language.
Wow I’m shocked,surprised & happy to see the achdis,its the first article on ViN that every on is saying positive, & pro Rebbi Balkany I don’t know him personally but from reading all the comments he sounds like a real tzadik, hashem should help him, we should only hear Good news. Marbin b’simcha:)
Sorry to burst the balloon.
The previous charges were about taking money for special ed purposes and using it elsewhere. Even though he was not acused of personal profit it was wrong. There are not enough schools for certain special ed kids, thanks to tricksters like balkany.
The fact that charges were dropped probably had more to do with connections than being clean.
tthe story he claims makes little sense. If balkany were so clean he would be running his school or learning, not meeting hedge fund people that just happen to have legal challenges.
I read the goverment’s press release. It sure sounds like they have a lot of specific evidence this time around. It seems to me that the goverment is intent on preventing Rabbi Balkany from shtadling on behalf of prisoners. This was their goal the last time and this is their goal now.
Living on the same block as Rabbi Balkany, his chashuve wife, and wonderful family, I can attest to the myriad acts of chessed that goes on in the house on a daily basis = Their door is open wide to any person in need, Shabbos and Yomtov are packed with guests from near and far, Shiurim for women in the mornings, and tzedakah collectors at every hour of the day, the Kiruv Rechokim of the Balkany’s is admirable and something we should all learn from. Let’s hope that Rabbi Balkany will be cleared from any charges so that he can continue his tremendous work for Klal Yisrael.
#7 , you remind me of this true story. A man went to Reb Yolish and told him that he is in a terrible legal situation, and would like the rebbe’s brachah. The rebbe told him, “Nu, d’Aibishter zull helfen, d’emes zull aroyskimen.” To which the man responded, “Rebbe, CHAS V’SHALOM! NEYN! D’emes tur nisht aroyskimen!”
I don’t want to be paranoid, but it seems they are “out to get” more often now.We should be looking to clean up wrongs. No one is immune-from the religious to the lost.
It´s nice to read that the Rabbi was “released after posting $250,000 bond and approximately $1 million property in equity”.
I find it very curious that VIN did not post the WSJ/Bloomberg article on this matter, but instead decided to post this puff-piece about Balkany “extorting charitable donations” (as opposed to blackmail, and laudering the money through his piggybank schools).
if you want to see what a bal chesed rabbi balkany is, walk by his house on shaboos and see how many yidden he has the zichus to be machnus orach.
with hashems help the zechus of hachnusses orchim he should be matzliach
Unfortunately, it’s on audio and video. He’ll need Ben Brafman for this one.
maybe covering our faces on planes is the answer hey!
Anyone who has been fortunate enough to be in the Balkany home on a shabbos,
knows the kind of person Rabbi Balkany is. He can have 30+ people a meal & have
many walk-in uninvited. He treats the wealthiest person & the many down-in-their-luck
people all the same, with tremendous hachnasos orchim. He goes out of his way for
everyone who asks & does many many things that no one knows about for the klal.
They’ve gotten me lost on this one!
If indeed the hedge fund guy was involved in illegal trading, then shouldn’t the Feds want to ENCOURAGE people to report it? If so, then indicting Rabbi Balkany does little to achieve that objective.
Rabbi Balkany has been on the Feds bad boy list for years. His main problem is that he has so many influential political friends because of his myriad acts of humanity and chesed on behalf of klal yisroel. This tends to upset the other side of the political coin and whenever they can, they go after him. Too bad he’ll have to use money that could be used produtively in his various chesed endeavors to fight this salacious accusation.
Check out the real story in news sites with no agenda.They allegedly have the guy on tape extorting the money and in that case 7 years ago he was never exonerated,he just repaid the money and they dropped it for some reason.When will we learn a long white beard means nothing?Oh sure,this is just anti-semitic prosecutors….just like every time a frum scandal hits the news you have fools making excuses.Enough already!
In 2003, he took out an ad in the jerusalem report declaring his innocence which he repeated yesterday. in fact he repaid 700K+ and agreed to a set of conditions. In the interim the velt honored him!. Any question why this happened? Compliance meetings, cries of blood libel, etc. have replaced ehlichkeit. no wonder we have chillul hashem after chillul hashem!
I know a family in flatbush that the Rabbi helped, how do I know it’s true? it was my family. stay strong Rabbi Balkany….
Had he been able to get the money, maybe this great “Tzadick” could have paid the millions of dollors he owes teachers over the years…
So if the hedge fund wanted to give money to tzeduka, why would they call the cops on him? What woud the hedge fund gain by Balkany going to jail?
Who cares how much chesed his does? Either the tapes are fabricated or he is a felon.
Anyone on the inside of the hedge-fund business knows that insider trading is an every day occurrence (or should i say every hour and every minute). Bolkany is so dumb thinking that would get him anywhere with black mailing on such an accusation …
By the way i know him a little bit as well..
Okay, couple of things…you beat a Federal rap with some technicality, as he did a few years ago, you make the Feds look bad…they are going to keep on you like glue. It is arrogant to think that you are immune.
Now, I firmly belive that the Rav was using the money solely for the purposes of Chinuch, and was not personally benefitting from the “donations.” But folks, “lulav Hagazul,” Hashem is NOT going to allow you to benefit from non Kosher money, even for Torah education.
Dina Malcusah dina is not even the issue here…the issue is not going to jail for long periods of time by egregiously breaking the law! Duh.
Folks, the Feds will get you at some point, and like a pit bull, they will never let go until they put you in jail.