FBI-New York Assistant Director in Charge Michael J. Driscoll during a gathering in New York in August 2021 | twitter.com/rabbicheskyblau/
Five people have been arrested for allegedly stealing millions of federal dollars intended to help children from low-income families, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced Jan. 11.
The defendants, all of Brooklyn, New York, were charged in a seven-count indictment for crimes related to a decade-long scheme to defraud millions of dollars from government-funded childcare programs, the DOJ reports. Four of the defendants, Martin Handler, Menachem Lieberman, Isidore Handler and Ben Werczberger, were arrested in New York; the fifth, Harold Schwartz, was arrested in Florida, according to the DOJ.
“As alleged, the defendants brazenly participated in schemes that stole from programs meant to benefit society’s most vulnerable members — children — and spent the proceeds of their crimes on items like real estate, cars, and to buy items at auction," Damian Williams, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, said in the report.
Five defendants from Brooklyn, N.Y. were arrested for crimes related to a decade-long scheme to defraud millions of dollars from government-funded childcare programs.
| Grant Barrett/Wikimedia Commons
"Their schemes used children as currency, creating a fake after-school program and ‘enrolling’ in that program children who never attended it, all so they could line their own pockets," Williams said.
The indictment alleges the defendants participated in multiple schemes dating back to 2009, including to defraud daycare providers that received state and government funding; fraudulently claim reimbursement for enrolling children in fake after-school programs; secretly owning purported non-profit daycare providers that received more than $90 million in federal funding since 2009; and hiring two relatives of Werczber for "no-show" jobs; among other crimes.
Charges against the defendants include conspiracies to commit wire fraud, defraud the U.S. government, theft of government funds, identity theft, falsification of documents and records, and money laundering, among others. Sentences range from two to 20 years on each charge, the DOJ reports.
Susan Frisco, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the New York Regional Office of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Inspector General (HHS-OIG), said in the report that the agency and its partners in law enforcement are "fervent in our efforts" to investigate those suspected of conspiring to defraud federally funded childcare programs "and deprive deserving enrollees in an attempt to gain personal wealth."
“The monies that the defendants are alleged to have stolen were intended to support New York families that greatly need financial assistance in securing safe and quality care for their children," Frisco said in the report.
FBI Assistant Director Michael J. Driscoll, who, along with Frisco and Williams announced the charges, said the “FBI remains dedicated to uncovering and eliminating the abuse of government-sponsored programs and ensuring those who exploit programs intended to assist low-income families will be held accountable.”
