An ultra-Orthodox Jew of the Lubavitcher hasidic movement, he is a former chairman of the Crown Heights Jewish Community Council (CHJCC), a private, nonprofit social service organization in Crown Heights, Brooklyn,[1] New York, that receives $2 million per annum in state funding for community improvement projects.
[9] He pleaded guilty to one count of bank fraud under US CODE 18 § 1344, "execution of a scheme to defraud a financial institution" on July 31, 2002.
In his capacity as president of Montex, he had failed to secure workers' compensation insurance for the company's employees, required by Pennsylvania law.
On May 4, 2001, he was placed in an Accelerated Rehabilitation Disposition (ARD) program for a period of 18 months and ordered to pay $968 in fines, costs, and restitution.
According to the prosecution, the Rubashkin family had maintained an interest in the plant following its sale to Skyline Industries and during subsequent complex financial transactions, including a $4 million mortgage foreclosure awarded to a company called Supreme Realty of Brooklyn.
[15] The EPA initiated a clean-up of the property in October 2005, including disposal of numerous containers of hazardous wastes and substances.
When elected, he was expected to help bridge divisiveness in the Lubavitcher community, and he was supposed not to be directly involved in the CHJCC's finances due to his conviction on felony charges,[20] but he was soon accused by fellow members of the Council of having misdirected funds for personal gain.
[23] When he was convicted a second time on felony charges, "no one seemed to mind ... And the strange thing is, even though he went to jail in November (2008), he remained president of the council until elections were held in May (2009).