2 Top Officials Charged in Met Council Scam

Scandal Widens: Along with former leader William Rapfogel, two other onetime top officials at the Met Council on Jewish Poverty have been charged in a kickback scam.

By JTA January 8, 2014

Two former employees of the Metropolitan Council on Jewish Poverty were charged in the multimillion-dollar scam at the New York charity.

Former Executive Director David Cohen and Chief Financial Officer Herbert Friedman were arraigned Tuesday in Manhattan Criminal Court on grand larceny, money laundering and conspiracy charges, the New York Daily News reported. They pleaded not guilty.

According to the felony complaint, Cohen and Friedman told prosecutors they conspired with former Met Council chief William Rapfogel to collect kickbacks on insurance payments.

Rapfogel, a longtime Jewish communal professional who was considered a major power broker in New York, was fired as Met Council president and CEO over the summer after the council’s board of directors learned of financial regularities.

In September, Rapfogel was arrested on charges of grand larceny and money laundering.

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