Join us for a free, fun-filled family
afternoon as we celebrate the

New Year 5762

Maximum Penalty

Attorney's law license suspended for five years;
full restitution required for reinstatement.

ALAN ABRAMS
Special to the Jewish News

B

arry D. Yaker, the _
Huntington Woods attorney
imprisoned for cheating
local Jewish investors in an
Israeli oil-drilling plan, had his license
to practice law suspended by the State
of Michigan Attorney Discipline Board.
The five-year suspension is the max-
imum penalty allowed under the rules
of the state's Attorney Grievance
Commission, said associate counsel
Susan E. Gillooly.
By pleading "no contest," Yaker
chose not to challenge the allegations
of the license suspension proceedings
and accepted the punishment leveled
against him.
The suspension, handed down Aug.
21, takes effect Sept. 12. At the end of
the five years, Yaker will have to retake
the bar examination and undergo the
scrutiny of the State Bar's Character and
Fitness Committee to regain his license.
"In addition, he will have to satisfy
all the terms of his federal probation,
including full restitution to his vic-
tims," said Gillooly.
Yaker, who is 66, is serving a 21-
month sentence at the Federal
Correctional Institution in Milan. He
pleaded guilty in August 2000 to one
federal count of mail fraud in the
amount of $108,000.
U.S. District Court Judge Gerald
Rosen sentenced Yaker last Nov. 27,
but through a series of legal filings,
Yaker delayed the start of his sentence
until March 15.
Yaker is concurrently serving an
identical 21-month sentence on two
state felony counts of embezzlement
over $100, to which he also pleaded
guilty in August 2000.
In addition, Oakland County Circuit
Court Judge David Breck sentenced
Yaker to five years of probation follow-
ing his prison term, two years beyond
the three-year federal probation he will
serve after his release from prison.
Yaker, who had a law office in
Birmingham, defrauded investors who
provided more than $1.8 million to
Independent Oil Partners Ltd., the
partnership Yaker created to drill for
oil under the Dead Sea in Israel.
Drilling never began and Yaker divert-

ed investors' funds to pay for personal
and family expenses.
The investors were Jewish — and
included a number of prominent
local businessmen. According to
court testimony, Yaker played upon
their love for Israel and promised
them dinners with Israel's leaders
once the well was a success.
The court was told Yaker misrepre-
sented the participation of the late
Ambassador David Hermelin of
Bingham Farms in the plan.
Hermelin, in an affidavit filed in
Oakland County Circuit Court, said
he was never an investor and had not
lent his name to the promotion.
Yaker has not made restitution to his
victims. A federal prosecutor at his sen-
tencing had set the restitution amount at
$685,000, but Yaker has since disputed
the figure. Judge Rosen has yet to hold a
hearing to determine the amount.

I 5th Annual
Apples 6 Honey
and lots, lots more

Sunday, September 9

1:30-4:30 PM

Jimmy Prentis Morris Building of the Jewish Community Center
on the A. Alfred Taubman Jewish Community Campus in Oak Park

OM

Of

NEW THIS YEAR!

Create your own "Tikkun Time"
tool belt to repair the world!

Take home your own Tikkun
Olam scrapbook!

Repairing the World...
Together!

Make your own shofar at the Shofar Factory
$10 each for an authentic kosher horn • Limited availability s Age 9 and up • Pre register by September 4

-

Holiday crafts and lots, lots more!

For your convenience The Soup Bowl Deli will have
"Apples & Honey" lunch specials available for purchase

Tzedakah admission • please bring a NEW small toy to be donated to the First Fruits Birthday Gift Program
(A program designed to give birthday presents to Jewish children who would not otherwise receive them).

r 1 uci t4 p - ) t rc

1:5,,ti,T OF THE TEAR

Jewish
Fedefotic
H

.(HelaxecnDeece

❑

Mitzvah Day
For Families

T

he Women's Campaign and
Education Department of the
Jewish Federation of Metropolitan
Detroit invites Jewish women and
their families to "Itsa Mitzva," a day of
good deeds and fun 12:30 p.m.
Sunday, Sept. 30.
The volunteers will meet to have
lunch at the Max M. Fisher Federation
Building in Bloomfield Township before
heading to their volunteer assignments.
The projects will involve volunteers
assisting older adults and those having
disabilities. Participating students can
receive mitzvah credit for their bar/bat
mitzvah and community service hours.
Some of the available projects will
include crafts and other indoor activi-
ties with older adults, an outdoor
beautification project with adults with
disabilities and holiday baking with
adults with disabilities
Co-chairs of "Itsa Mitzva" are Gail
Fisher and Karen Lewis. Paula Glazier
is president of the Women's Campaign
and Education Department; Lisa Lis is
the vice president.
For information or to register by
Monday, Sept. 10, contact Kara
Weiner, (248) 203-1499. ❑

at the

nraur mm ass

JN

For more information, to volunteer,
or to pre-register for the Shofar Factory,
call Vanessa at the J.E.F.F. office at (248) 645-7860.

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