Rabbi Israel Goldstein, rabbi of a synagogue in Pavi, San Diego, who became famous after being wounded by gunfire and losing his finger in a state-of-the-art synagogue attack, will seek a 14-month prison sentence for “million-dollar fraud plots,” the court ruled.
In a rare agreement in even rarer circumstances, both the plaintiffs and defense attorneys recommended only house arrest, for Rabbi Israel Goldstein. They even mentioned to the court the leadership demonstrated by the rabbi in the weeks following the 2019 attack on a Chabad synagogue in Fawai, the immense physical and emotional trauma the former rabbi continues to struggle with and his cooperation in the FBI fraud investigation that began a year before the attack.
Despite this, the judge rejected the recommendation for house arrest, ruling that he would want an actual prison sentence “in light of the seriousness of the crimes.” The judge said in court, “Not only did you commit this offense yourself but you took a lot of people with you,” district court judge Cynthia Bashant told Rabbi Goldstein.
“I think it’s important to send a message to the community, and I think it’s important to send you a message,” she added. Rabbi Goldstein was also ordered to pay about $ 2.8 million in damages, an amount he would pay with several other defendants who were prosecuted.
The judge agreed to a moderate-level federal prison in Otisville, New York, which his defense attorney said was known to be suitable for observant Jews. This was reported in the local media.
The FBI has announced that Rabbi Goldstein is on top of a number of fraudulent programs that exploit tax loopholes, charities, and aid in government grants. Prosecutors claimed he personally earned at least $ 620,000 from the fraud.
The most common scam among the programs is known as the “90/10” scam. Regularly donate large charitable donations to one of the charities, in order to receive a tax refund. But instead of the money going to organizations, Rabbi Goldstein secretly transferred 90 percent of it back to the donor, keeping 10 percent to himself. One donor received his donation in the form of a million dollars in gold, prosecutors said.
In sentencing, the judge said she was amazed at the amount of people Rabbi Goldstein dragged with him. In a letter to the judge and other statements in court, Goldstein expressed deep remorse.
“I ask for mercy and that they will accept my remorse and allow me to correct the injustices, and be able to live the rest of my life in remorse and give me the opportunity to do everything I can to help others to the best of my ability,” the rabbi told the judge last night (Tuesday).
Rabbi Goldstein resigned from his position as rabbi in November 2019, on the grounds of exhaustion. The news of his crimes was not made public until the following summer, when he pleaded guilty to tax and network fraud. This was reported by the San Diego Times-Union website.
With the help of an aid program, Rabbi Goldstein applied for assistance and grants of $ 937,000 over the years, falsely claiming that the funds were needed to upgrade security at the synagogue, repair non-existent damage caused by fires in 2007, and take the money to upgrade his residence. The funds were provided by federal emergency agencies, but the vast majority was pocketed.
Hannah Kay, the daughter of murdered woman Lori Gilbert-Kay, who was killed in the shooting, attended a public hearing on Tuesday to testify about Rabbi Goldstein. “We consider him partly responsible for my mother’s murder as a result of him stealing security grants designed to protect the synagogue, which were used instead for his personal gain,” Kay said.
The rabbi wrote to the judge “I fell prey and worshiped the golden calf of money, I disappointed myself and everything I taught, and everything I preached for 40 years, and allowed myself to be tempted to a very dark place.”
Rabbi Goldstein is accused of helping his brother in New York also hide an income of $ 700,000 by depositing money in various accounts, his brother pleaded guilty and his sentence will be handed down next month.