Research in the U.S.: computing funds fraudulently transferred to Yeshivas

Huge fraud case may rock the Yeshiva world in the U.S..

For several months the FBI is following after institutions that receive government funding to determine if the institutions used the budgets for the purpose given to them, the 'Jewish Week' newspaper revealed.

The story exploded when a private investigator discovered that the Avir Yosef yeshiva of chassidei Square in recent years has received a grant of $ 3.3 million for the purchase of computers, the internet and computer studies.

The researcher was able to secretly film the yeshiva rooms and it became clear that there is not one single computer station in the yeshiva.

Roshei Yeshiva strongly objects to use a computer or the Internet. The researcher, who prompted some yeshiva students about computer science, expressed that the internet and computer are "treif."

The exposure showed that the Square yeshiva is not the only Orthodox yeshiva which has a budget for computer studies.

In 2011 $ 30 million were transferred to 285 Haredi institutions in New York, including Beis Rachel institutions of Satmar and other institutions belonging to groups opposing sharply to the ravages of technology.

The budget is part of the federal program E-Rate aimed to combine the technological edge in schools and public libraries.
Now Torah institutions that received funding for computer science will have to prove that students learned computers and the Internet.

The fear is that the investigation is expected to expand and large scale arrests are expected. Roshei Yeshiva may find themselves in prison.

'בחדרי' גם ברשתות החברתיות - הצטרפו!