Four couples were arrested on Monday in New Jersey in connecting with a welfare scam that defrauded the state out of $800K.
According to NJ 101.5 Rabbi Zalmen Sorotzkin, and his wife, Tzipporah; and Mordechai Breskin, and his wife, Jocheved were arrested on charges filed by the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office. The FBI, meanwhile, arrested Rachel Sorotzkin, Mordechai Sorotzkin, Yocheved Nussbaum, and Shimon Nussbaum, on federal charges of conspiring to steal federal funds.
The Breskins are charged with improperly collecting more than $500,000 in Medicaid, SNAP, HUD, and SSI benefits from January 2009 until December 2014.
The Sorotzkins are charged with collecting more than $300,000 in aid during that same time frame.
County officials did not detail what assets and income these families earned during that time. But Coronato said the charges came after the defendants allegedly declared lower income amounts in order to qualify for the various benefit programs. By doing this he said they were able to collect more money for themselves and their family.
Acting U.S. Attorney William E. Fitzpatrick said two other couples were charged after collecting federal benefits despite earning millions.
The feds say Rachel and Mordechai Sorotzkind received Medicaid benefits for themselves and their children despite getting “significant windfalls,” including a $1 million payment to Rachel Sorotzkin’s business in April 2013. Fitzpatrick said that payment was not reported to Medicaid, nor was the fact that the couple earned more than $1 million in both 2012 and 2013 while they continued to claim medicaid benefits. In total Fitzpatrick said the couple collected close to $96,000 in “taxpayer-funded medical care,” including $22,000 for medical expenses when their sixth child was born in November 2013.
Fitzpatrick said the Nussbaums also received illegal benefits from 2011 through 2014 by creating several shell companies, which they said were run by relatives but were actually under their control. Fitzpatrick said the family made as much as $1.8 million in 2013 but still applied for Medicaid, Section 8 housing, and SNAP food benefits.
In order to hide their income, Fitzpatrick said the couple opened several bank accounts using the names of the companies and would then use the money from the accounts for their daily expenses. In total, Fitzpatrick said the Nussbaums received close to $178,000 in government funds.
All four defendants who appeared in state court were ordered to surrender their passports.