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Cleveland Mortgage Fraud Case: What's With the Rash of Rabbi Bagmen?

By Pete Kotz in Corruption, bad clergy, fraud
Tuesday, September 1, 2009 at 10:00 am
Rabbi-Saul-Kassin.jpg
Saul Kassin, one of the rabbis nabbed in New York
​While this case isn't as weird as the recent case involving money laundering rabbis in New York and New Jersey, there does seem to be a small problem with corruption in the rabbinical ranks.

Last week, police in Cleveland took down a massive mortgage fraud ring that involved 41 people, 453 homes and $44 million in fraudulent loans. It may well be the largest mortgage fraud case in U.S. history. But while this tends to be a common crime in Cleveland -- the city long led the league in mortgage schemes before they became fashionable on the coasts -- it was the way alleged ringleader Uri Gofman secreted away his money that raises attention.

Prosecutors contend Gofman's scam took in a sweet $31 million in profits. And that money was apparently deposited in European banks by a Ukrainian rabbi, who would fly in and out of Cleveland on the same day carrying large piles of loot. In related news, it is not believed that the rabbi is currently upholding any vow of poverty.

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