Agriprocessors Bankruptcy Trustees Eye Jewish Charities

By Seth Berkman May 13, 2013

Trustees appointed to the bankruptcy case of kosher meatpacking plant Agriprocessors are targeting charities that were beneficiaries of donations by the company.

According to the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier, earlier this month, trustees announced a settlement with Colel Chabad, the oldest continually running charity in Israel, which provides services for widows, orphans and immigrants, including food and medical aid.

Colel Chabad received more than $4 million from Agriprocessors, which was raided in 2008 by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Shortly after the raid, Agriprocessors filed for bankruptcy.

Payments were made to Colel Chabad while Agriprocessors was in insolvency. The trustees and the charity settled for $50,000, pending court approval.

In 2012, trustees settled with Bet Kahila-Eighth Degree for $82,000, after the Minnesota-based charity received almost $3 million from Agriprocessors. Trustees will now turn their focus to Torah Education Program of Northeast Iowa, which they claim received $11 million from Agriprocessors.

It’s not the first time bankruptcy trustees have gone after Jewish charities to recoup losses.

In 2010, women’s Zionist group Hadassah had to pay $45 million in a settlement to trustees overseeing the Bernie Madoff case, about half of what they earned in the Ponzi scheme. Hadassah had earned $97 million in profits during its investment with Madoff.

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