Adelaide, Australia – A rabbi and his wife will contest multiple fraud-related charges over state and federal government grants.
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The case against Yosef Yitzchok Engel, 40, and Chana Engel, 39, came before the Adelaide Magistrates Court today with defence counsel saying they expected the matter to go to trial.
The allegations relate to grants the pair received for providing religious studies to students at a school which prosecutors say does not exist. Prosecutors have alleged the couple falsified accounts in order to create a Jewish education facility called the Spirit of David School.
The two are accused of listing a number of students as undertaking religious studies at the school in order to obtain $50,000 in grants from the State and Federal governments.
Prosecutors have claimed the Spirit of David School did not exist, and that more than half of those students listed were in no way connected with the couple.
Today Natale Oliveri, for Rabbi Engel, said prosecutors had yet to provide copies of all their evidence.
“This has been going on for about three years now,” he said.
“My client is a rabbi who has been frustrated by this process. “He’s not been able to get on with his life.”
The rabbi and his wife of Glenunga, each have yet to plead to 39 counts of dishonestly dealing with documents.
Prosecutors said a small amount of material was still to be provided to the defence.
The case was adjourned until March for a pre-trial conference.
Rabbi Engel and his former employer, the Adelaide Hebrew Congregation, were involved in a lengthy 2007 court battle over the termination of his contract, (as was reported here on VIN News). He lost the action in the Supreme Court.
London’s Beth Din Jewish Orthodox Court is now examining the matter. Rabbi Engel is seeking reinstatement and compensation from the congregation.
Court orders barring him officiating at services called by the congregation or at the Glenside synagogue remain in force.
Doesn’t make sense. Didn’t the government check, come & inspect & see the school? No govt just hands out money without proof the place exists! If they do, i’m emigrating to Oz! i’m opening up a new University.
Innocent until proven guilty
oy now I see why some frum people don’t want tuition vouchers or other govt support
once u take the govt money the govt “owns” u and meddles in your schools too much etc
I give bracha for rabbi rebbitzin to have a yeshua very soon.
Genug! Enough is enough. When will our yeshivos and mosdos begin emphasizing mussar and ethics rather than memorizing blatt gemora? Every day brings news of yey more rabbis and other frum Jews stealing, lying, laundering money, creating Ponzi schemes, etc. etc. Why aren’t our REAL rabbonim shouting from the rooftops? And then we turn around and tell ourselves we’re better than others simply because of an accident of birth?
Rabbi Engel originally had requested the contractual dispute be resolved by a din Torah, or rabbinic arbitration, under the aegis of the beth din, or rabbinical court, in Sydney, which has jurisdiction over Adelaide. But the synagogue board refused because it maintained Engel’s contract was a civil agreement, not a religious one.
As a result, the Sydney Beth Din issued a ktav siruv, or order of contempt, against the board, effectively severing the congregation’s ties to the Orthodox world.
This is real smear campaign to discredit Rabbi Engel and lower him in the estimation of right-minded people.
Where is Rabbi Telsner when we need him?
Has Rabbi Telsner noticed that since he issued his sweet Ahavas Yisroel’dik Halachicaly Invalid Cherem, each and every day brings forth with it a another and a new scandal and another additional bizoyon against Chabad somewhere?
As the saying goes, what goes around comes around and if you don’t shoot strait it can rickashay and you end up shooting yourself in the foot Chas Vesholom.
A fake Cherem can backfire and it seems it did indeed backfire and Chabad now has Kovod Melochim each and every day in the news, since then.
u mean they gave money to a school that dosnt exist???????PLEASE,the gov. is also stupid. after they gave money they have complaints??????????