NEW YORK, Sept. 15 (UPI) -- A New York rabbi and his brother have been charged with stealing $220,000 in federal housing benefits intended to help low-income families.
Rabbi Leib Glanz and Menashe Glanz were released on $50,000 personal recognizance bonds after appearing before a magistrate judge Wednesday, The New York Times reported. Federal prosecutors said Menashe Glanz received Section 8 status as the tenant of an apartment in the Williamsburg neighborhood in Brooklyn, but his brother actually lived there.
"This kind of fraud depletes the precious taxpayer dollars available to individuals in need of housing assistance," New York City Investigations Commissioner Rose Gill Hearn said in a news release.
Under the Section 8 program, the government pays the difference between the market rent and a rent based on the tenant's income.
Rabbi Glanz was a leader in the Satmar community in Williamsburg and formerly headed the Satmar Yeshivas, a school system with 8,000 children.
The rabbi was also for many years a chaplain in the city jails. The charges stem from an investigation into a bar mitzvah he arranged in jail two years ago for a prisoner's son that included a band and catered meal.