There is an article in todays Asbury Park Press & the New York Newsday claiming that Lakewood Cheder “has agreed to pay the government nearly $1.3 million to settle allegations that it submitted false certifications for payment under the National School Lunch Program.” It also stated that “according to the settlement agreement, Lakewood Cheder received more than $953,000 in excess school lunch program payments as a result of the false information it submitted between 1996 and 2000.”
The facts are that Lakewood Cheder does not have any kindergarten in their school – and were distributing hundreds of lunches daily to multiple different locations throughout Lakewood at private kindergartens. These kindergartens were in fact registered with Lakewood Cheder as the offical Lakewood Cheder Kindergartens, but failed to register them with the Government.
[In other words: The children “existed” in kindergartens which were scattered throughout Lakewood; they just were not in the Lakewod Cheder building. If Lakewood Cheder had properly registered all of the addresses, there would have never been an issue.]
As soon as The Cheder was placed under investigation, they were not supplied ANY lunches until this date.
The fact remains that the US Government owes Lakewood Cheder close to $900,000 for all of the lunches that it’s school failed to receive due to this “investigation”.
Lakewood Cheder IS in fact paying the US Government a large sum of money, but not the amount which the newspapers so gleefully wrote. After subtracting the amount owed by the US Government to Lakewood Cheder, the amount that they will pay the Government is only about $400,000 and not the $1.3 million as they claim.
Just another example of inaccurate reporting in the mainstream media.
Here is the article from The New York Newsday:
An Ocean County private school has agreed to pay the government nearly $1.3 million to settle allegations that it submitted false certifications for payment under the National School Lunch Program, federal prosecutors said Tuesday.
According to the settlement agreement, Lakewood Cheder School, a private all-boys Jewish school in Lakewood, received more than $953,000 in excess school lunch program payments as a result of the false information it submitted between 1996 and 2000.
Specifically, the government charged that the school submitted claims for school lunches that were served at approximately 90 private residences that were ineligible and unapproved school sites. More than 1,100 preschool age children were claimed to have received the lunches.
“This is an abuse of government funds that takes money away from other children who are truly in need and deserving of these resources,” said the U.S. attorney for New Jersey, Christopher J. Christie, whose office prosecuted the case. “It is wrong, and we will continue to look for such misappropriations and recoup that money so that it can serve the intended recipients.”
Though some of the homes served as nurseries and preschools, they were not authorized for reimbursement under the school lunch program.
“You have to get certified. There’s an inspection process and nutritional requirements,” said Assistant U.S. Attorney Rudolph A. Filko. “They were submitting claims for money under a program they weren’t entitled to.”
Lakewood Cheder School did not admit liability by agreeing to the settlement.
Reached at his office in New York, the school’s attorney, David G. Liston, declined to comment on the settlement.
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11 Responses
You’re being disingenuous in claiming that the cheder is not really paying 1.3 mil. Of course they are! Just b/c part of it is cancelled out by what they are owed by the feds doesn’t change the fact that their total payment is 1.3 mil. If they wouldn’t be paying that amount, they would now be 900K richer. They are paying that 900K (plus 400 more) to the government.
This is ridiculous. The kindergartens were illegal the cheder although they were serving the lunches did not do it legally and they got caught. They may not have wanted to steal but dont make it sound like they did nothing wrong. I also dont believe that the cheder got all thier money besides the kindergartens for all those years. They goofed and got caught and made a deal, instead of a $3million fine they got $1.4.
Any way you look at it, they did not follow the law and thereby enabled this Chillul Hashem.
A school like that has to understand by now the importance of being squeaky clean.
What are private kindergartens? Are they part of the Lakewood Cheder or not? This is the first I have heard about Lakewood Cheder having private kindergartens all over Lakewood!
How did they ever think they weren’t going to get caught?
THE NEWS MEDIA MAY HAVE PRESENTED INCORRECT NUMBERS.THAT IS NOT SIGNIFICANT.WHAT IS MOST DISTURBING IS THAT OUR CHILDREN AND GRANDCHILDREN ARE RECEIVING THEIR CHINUCH AT INSTITUTIONS WHOSE LEADERSHIP BELIEVES THE SHULCHAN ORECH IS COMPRISED OF 3 CHALAWKIM. WHATEVER HAPPENED TO CHOSHEN MISHPOT
it’s fine what they(chader) did was not all that bad. this anti semitism in trying to get jews! the lakewood board of ed. took 10mil.+ from the mosdos(federal money) and their is NNNO! federal investigation . In the chader’s case the children were there this was a tec. problem don’t blow it out of preportion . the press to , is waiting to get us! that is anti semitisim! not ‘chilul hashem’ if a joy scream ‘dirty jew’ is that to chilul hashem?? becouse he! the joy! he him self! clearly said ‘ D I R T Y J E W ‘!! !! !!?????
Yes, it is a shame that an Orthodox cheder has been involved in some type of scandal, which definitely qualifies as a chillul Hashem by the general usage of the term. However, by a halachic definition of the word chillul Hashem this cheder scandal only became a chillul Hashem once it became known to ten Jews or more. (see the Gemara in Sanhedrin 72a-b or atleast it is near there). I’m not saying theyeshivaworld.com shouldn’t post these scandalous stories that take place in the yeshivish circle, but the intent of these stories being posted is only to encourage an outrage among the readers to push for more honest Rabbis in K’lal Yisreol. I note more honest Rabbis since is the Rabbis of this cheder who created the chillul Hashem by violating the Torah. In particular, an emphasis on the fact that it is usser to steal from Goyim should be made since that is probably the heter that many Jewish laymen and Rabbis alike use as a moreh heter to involve themselves in these scandals.
OIY!
What does “anti semitism” have to do with this smeel says:???
All this school had to do was the proper paperwork involved. Any school should have to. And IF there are other federal investigations needed, lets make sure they are done – instead of putting a blanket over the issues and crying “anti semitism”. We must be more responsible than that with our accusations.
And if they made a deal, so what – who doesn’t today? I hope it all gets squared away quickly and all the children will be able to receive the food if needed. They are the only ones who will suffer with long delays.
humble
As long as a major part of the Lakewood population isn’t working (due to learning and lack of secular education), and therefore putting food on their family’s table with hardship, there isn’t enough money to go around to support the Mosdos. You can’t have everything. With things as they are, the mosdos can’t survive with total honesty, unless Askonim are willing to pick up the tab.
becouse if you were missing paper work and you hade gotten the money allready they should not have to give back all the only part of it. after all these children did ea the food and they were eligable? if anything it’s kidush hashem that the chader tryed to help other yiden . most mosdos did not do that. just think when you need help from a mosod you talk differantly. a yid has to care about an other yid remember no one stold a penney here
smeelsays;
I happen to agree with you completely. I don’t think anyone was hurt by this – and honestly, children were fed, so whats the problem? The only thing is, IF they had done the paperwork accordingly, this could have possibly been avoided, is my only point. I don’t think it has to do with “anti-semitism” as you had earlier stated.
I do think that no child should go hungry. And being they were certainly feeding children, what harm has it done? I do know what its like to be hungry, and have no help smell says. I know the pain of going to bed with a pain in my gut from hunger. And trust me, I help out as many as I am able to because I don’t want to see anyone endure such.
If I had discovered, as the authorities did; that the food was distributed to many schools, instead of one – not sure I would say much about it. So perhaps its best I’m not in that position…I would have looked beyond the paper trail, and looked at the result of distribution. But others may not agree with me on that.
There are many children who are hungry – I just hope that all of them are able to get food and not have to grow up with the memory of hunger.
humble