Eight additional people have been arrested in connection with the ongoing investigation into the fraud at the Claims Conference, which now tops $57 million.
The arrests Oct. 12 brought the total number of arrests in the case to 30.
Of the eight new suspects named by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, five are former Claims Conference employees. A ninth suspect was expected to voluntarily surrender to authorities last week, the FBI said.
The suspects are charged with conspiracy to commit mail fraud.
“These defendants had a hand in fabricating, filing or processing nearly 5,000 fraudulent claims on behalf of non-qualifying applicants,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office said in a statement. “Claims Conference funds have been drained of $57 million meant for Holocaust victims, and a large portion of the diverted money went into the pockets of corrupt insiders.”
The inquiry has uncovered 3,839 false claims with the Hardship Fund and 1,112 false claims with the Article 2 fund.
Germany created the Hardship Fund to provide one-time payments of approximately $3,500 to Jews who fled the Nazis. The Article 2 fund, also funded by Germany, pays monthly pensions of about $400 to victims of Nazi persecution who meet certain criteria. — jta