Rabbi, others plead guilty to conspiracy

The head of an Orthodox Jewish group and four sect members pleaded guilty Monday in Los Angeles to federal conspiracy charges in what prosecutors called an international tax fraud and money laundering scheme involving tens of millions of dollars.

Rabbi Naftali Tzi Weisz pleaded guilty to orchestrating a scheme that helped donors avoid paying federal income taxes by having them donate millions of dollars to charities run by Spinka, his Brooklyn-based Orthodox Jewish group, then secretly refunding most of the money.

"The people making the donations had receipts to use on their tax returns. It was the full value. That was their benefit," said Thom Mrozek, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office. "Spinka organizations would get some of the money."

Mrozek estimated that the fraud amounted to tens of millions of dollars, noting that the Spinka organizations received $8.5 million in contributions in 2006 alone.

Weisz, several associates and five charities associated with Spinka were indicted in 2007 by a federal grand jury.

Weisz's assistant, Gabbai Moshe E. Zigelman, 62, of Brooklyn, pleaded guilty in June 2008.

Four other associates, including Yaacov Zeivald, 44, of Valley Village, pleaded guilty on Monday. The others were Yosef Nachum Naiman, 57, Alan Jay Friedman, 45, and Moshe Arie Lazar, 62, all of Los Angeles.

They are scheduled to be sentenced in November.

In some instances, authorities said, contributors eceived cash payments through an underground money transfer network operating out of Los Angeles' downtown jewelry district.

A second method involved wire transfers from Spinks-controll entities into accounts secretly held at a bank in Israel, prosecutors said.

Prosecutors have said they are investigating more than 100 others who contributed to Spinka organizations.

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