world >> briefs
Active Aging Centers
Claims Conference Knew Of
Major Fraud A Decade Ago
(JTA) - The Claims Conference was
alerted as early as 2001 to a fraud
scheme within the organization that
ran unimpeded from 1993 to 2009 and
cost $57 million.
The warning to the Claims
Conference came in the form of
an anonymous letter that reached
the organization's then-director in
Germany, Karl Brozik, in mid-2001.
The letter identified five ineligible
cases and accused Claims Conference
employee Semyon Domnitser of
approving restitution for them.
Domnitser, who was found guilty last
week of spearheading the $57 million
scheme, managed to deflect the blame
away from himself, and the fraud con-
tinued for nearly a decade more.
The 2001 letter and subsequent
internal review came up in Domnitser's
trial and first appeared in a report this
week by the Forward, which obtained
the letter.
At the time, Brozik, who has since
died, brought the letter to the attention
of senior Claims Conference execu-
tives, including Gideon Taylor, then the
executive vice president of the Claims
Conference. A Claims Conference
staffer who conducted an internal
review for the organization expressed
serious concerns about Domnitser and
other Claims Conference employees
who reviewed and approved the fraud-
ulent applications. However, the orga-
nization failed to take action against
Domnitser and the fraud continued.
In a statement to JTA, the Claims
Conference blamed Brozik for accept-
ing Domnitser's explanations and said
its current chief, Greg Schneider, who
in 2001 was assistant executive vice
president and director of allocations,
was not involved in the episode.
"The only document that Greg
received, as a third cc, was the
explanation from Semyon," Claims
Conference communications director
Hillary Kessler-Godin wrote to JTA in
an email, referring to Domnitser. "The
entire investigation that occurred did
not include Greg and involved people
senior to him. Dr. Brozik in Germany
accepted Semyon's explanations for the
cases cited in the anonymous letter"
The scheme involved falsifying
applications to the Hardship Fund, an
account established by the German
government to provide one-time
payments of approximately $3,360
to those who fled the Nazis as they
moved east through Germany, and
the Article 2 Fund, through which the
German government gives pension
payments of approximately $411 per
month to Nazi victims in need who
spent significant time in a concentra-
tion camp, in a Jewish ghetto, in hid-
ing or living under a false identity to
avoid the Nazis.
By the time Claims Conference lead-
ers realized in 2009 that a massive
fraud was under way, more than $57
million had been swindled from the
two funds.
In all, 31 people were arrested in con-
nection with the scheme. Twenty-eight
pleaded guilty and the three who went
to trial were found guilty last week.
Canada Deports Terrorist
After Lengthy Legal Battle
(JTA) - Canada deported convicted
Palestinian terrorist Mahmoud
Mohammad Issa Mohammad after a
25-year legal battle.
At a news conference in Ottawa on
May 13, Immigration Minister Jason
Kenney said the Mohammad affair
shows how broken the Canadian
immigration system has become and
that his deportation sends "the mes-
sage that we will no longer be treated
like suckers by terrorists:'
Kenney noted that Mohammad, 69,
a one-time member of the Popular
Front for the Liberation of Palestine,
stormed an Israeli airliner in Athens
in 1968, "throwing grenades and firing
live rounds at innocent civilians" kill-
ing one passenger. He was convicted
of manslaughter and sentenced to 17
years by the Greek courts.
But later that year, he was freed when
Palestinian terrorists stormed another
plane and demanded his release.
Mohammad obtained residency in
Lebanon and, in 1987, immigrated to
Canada "under a false alias, through
immigration fraud" Kenney said.
"He lied about his identity, he lied
about not having a criminal past,
[and] he lied about not having ties to
terrorist organizations. He flagrantly
violated Canada's fair immigration
laws and this country's generosity"
Kenney said. "He made a mockery of
our legal system"
Legal proceedings to deport
Mohammad began in 1988. Court
battles, risk assessments, hearings and
appeals took up the ensuing years.
Mohammad was flown to Lebanon
on May 11 aboard an air ambulance
owing to a heart condition, diabetes and
other ailments. His lawyer argued that
he will not be able to afford treatment
in Lebanon because he is not a citizen of
that country and is, in fact, stateless.
Kenney was unmoved.
"We believe that even criminals
should get due process and they
should get their day in court, but they
should not be able to abuse our fair
process and have endless years in
court delaying their deportation" he
said.
Regaining 10 or more years
of your physical function.
The ActiveRx System will get you up
and going again, or keep you going
on the path to lifelong wellness!
Manage pain
Prevent falls
Prevent disease
Ensure independent living
Invest 1% of your time and recover 30%
of your strength and ability to function.
SERVICES INCLUDE:
•ActivEvalrM — whole body function evaluation
• Active Physical Therapy
• Pre- and Post-surgical Rehab
• StrengtherapyTM — award-winning Active
Aging membership
We gladly accept Medicare
and other Insurances
For more information,
call (248) 932-0111 or
Initial Evaluation
a $100 Value
visit ActiveRx.com
Offer Expires July 31, 2013
ActiveRx West Bloomfield
Active Aging Center
6018 West Maple Road, Suite 850
ActiveRx West Bloomfield
Active Aging Center
6018 West Maple Road, Suite 850
West Bloomfield 48322
West Bloomfield 48322
RENAISSANCE MEDIA
Av.SOLUTIONS
A Full Service Custom Publishing House
Cranbrook
Custom Banners
01* Ircmg,
How can we help you?
Wall and Window
Graphics
Video Production
Marketing Services
Creative Services
Editorial Services
Pre-press Production
Social Media
Magazines
Newspapers
Corporate Identities
Annual Reports
Ad Campaigns
Mail and postage
Project Management
Business Consulting
Data Management
Telemarketing
Corporate Identity / Branding
Contact Kevin Browett or Debbie Schultz
29200 Northwestern Hwy. • Suite 110 • Southfield, MI 48034
248.354.6060
May 23 • 2013
33