A prominent Brooklyn rabbi has been accused of financial wrongdoing for the second time.
Milton Balkany, the head of the Bais Yaakov school in Boro Park, was charged Feb. 18 with trying to extort $4 million from a Connecticut hedge fund.
Balkany also was involved in efforts to head off a boycott of the disgraced kosher meat producer Agriprocessors, which was owned by his father-in-law, Aaron Rubashkin.
In this latest case, Balkany allegedly claimed that a federal prison inmate he was counseling had information that the hedge fund had made insider trades. If the fund didn’t pay up to two yeshivas, Balkany would have the prisoner talk to federal authorities. Prosecutors claim Balkany made up the story about the trades.
If convicted, he could face more than 20 years in prison. He was released on bail Feb. 18.
In 2003, Balkany was accused of misappropriating $700,000 in federal grant money. The charges eventually were dropped after he repaid the money. — jta