NEW YORK, Nov. 10 (UPI) -- Six employees and custodians of a Holocaust fund have been indicted in New York in a scheme that defrauded the fund out of more than $42 million.
The indictment, unsealed by Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara, also names 11 other defendants as outsiders who recruited and funneled applicants to the fund, The New York Times reported Wednesday.
The indictment said the defendants used fake identification documents, doctored government records and had a knowledge of Holocaust history to claim compensation from the fund, the Conference of Jewish Material Claims Against Germany.
The defendants recruited applicants, many from the New York area, through advertisements in Russian-language newspapers, the indictment said.
Once the payments were approved, the defendants would receive kickbacks from the applicants, according to the indictment.
"The alleged fraud is as substantial as it is galling," Bharara told a Tuesday news conference announcing the charges.
Among those indicted was Semen Domnitser, the director of two of the programs administered by the fund.
Domnitser, who was fired Feb. 3, is accused of being the leader of the fraud scheme.
