Kiryas Joel Raids: 5 Things to Know

By Jordan Fenster
Journal News
May 12, 2016

http://www.lohud.com/story/news/crime/2016/05/12/kiryas-joel-raids/84282456/

The FBI is raiding several locations in Kiryas Joel, a small, predominantly ultra-Orthodox village in Monroe, in Orange County.

Here are five things you should know about Kiryas Joel and those raids:

1. UPDATE: Fed probe linked to video of principal

The latest news suggests that the FBI raids are related to the allegedly inappropriate videos referenced below.

2. There have been allegations of sexual abuse

Two videos surfaced earlier this month showing the principal of the United Talmudical Academy, a Kiryas Joel-based yeshiva, touching students in what some have called an inappropriate manner. The state police said they had opened an investigation, but the school’s board of directors issued a statement defending the principal’s actions.

"The school principal is seen embracing the students who were sent to his office for behavioral issues," the statement read. "While this type of restraint may be unacceptable to some viewers, it in no way rises to the level of a criminal assault."

It is unclear if the federal raids conducted Thursday are related to the videos or the state police investigation.

3. The FBI recently raided nearby Rockland County yeshivas

In March, federal raids targeted several locations in Rockland County, involving 22 separate search warrants in Ramapo. It is not immediately clear if those raids, part of an investigation into whether local yeshivas properly spent money obtained through the federal government's E-Rate program, are connected to the investigation in Kiryas Joel.

The E-Rate program allocates more than $4 billion annually to schools for computer and Internet access across the nation.

Regarding those March raids — some of which also took place in Kiryas Joel — the U.S. Attorney's Office said: "Today, the FBI, working with our office, conducted searches in connection with an ongoing fraud investigation. If and when charges are filed, they will eventually become public. This remains an ongoing matter, and we are unable to provide any additional information at this time."

4. There was also a raid into school lunch fraud

According to The Forward, the Central United Talmudical Academy in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, was the subject of raids over alleged school lunch fraud. Federal investigators gave no indication if any of the raids and investigations — the E-Rate-related investigation or the school lunch program — were connected, though they did occur on the same day.

5. Kiryas Joel has the highest poverty rate in the nation

According to the Census Bureau, almost 70 percent of the village's residents live below the poverty line, meaning Kiryas Joel has the highest poverty rate in the United States. That, however, is a matter of choice, as then-village administrator Gedalye Szegedin told The New York Times in 2011. “If people want to work in a religious setting and make less than they would earn at B & H, that’s a choice people make,” he said. “I don’t want to be judgmental. I wouldn’t call it a poor community. I would say some are deprived. I would call it a community with a lot of income-related challenges.”

Contact: jfenster@lohud.com