MANHATTAN (CN) - After 11 years as a fugitive from charges he defrauded the United States of tens of millions of dollars, Avrum David Friesel has been arrested in London, federal prosecutors said Monday. Friesel and six others were charged with defrauding state and federal loan and subsidy programs in the Village of New Square, in Rockland County. Four of his co-defendants were convicted in 1999.
Friesel and his cohorts were charged with defrauding the Pell Grant program, the Small Business Administration, the Section 8 housing program, and the Social Security Administration. Friesel submitted phony documents "to establish the eligibility of New Square residents and others to participate in these programs; used the funds obtained from these programs for impermissible purposes; and concealed their fraud by using false names and nominee bank accounts," prosecutors said in a statement announcing his arrest.
The sixth man, Chaim Berger, was arrested in Israel in 1999, extradited, and pleaded guilty.
Friesel is lodged at government expense in London, where he will be given a bail hearing on May 7.
Read the Top 8
Sign up for the Top 8, a roundup of the day's top stories delivered directly to your inbox Monday through Friday.
Additional Reads
-
Top 8 today September 19, 2023 -
-
Top 8 today September 13, 2023
-
