William Rapfogel To Plead Guilty in $7M Met Council Fraud Case
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William Rapfogel, the ousted leader of the Metropolitan Council on Jewish Poverty in New York, reportedly will plead guilty for his role in a scheme to steal more than $7 million from the social service agency.
Rapfogel, who had served as CEO and president of the Met Council from 1992, was scheduled to enter a guilty plea in State Supreme Court in Manhattan on Wednesday morning.
David Cohen, Rapfogel’s predecessor at the council, is also scheduled to plead guilty for his role in the scheme, according to the New York Times, citing people familiar with the case.
Rapfogel has agreed to pay substantial restitution, the newspaper reported, citing unnamed sources. The plea agreement is confidential.
Rapfogel was fired in August 2013 after financial irregularities were discovered in an investigation initiated by the Met Council’s board of directors. New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman and the state comptroller’s office then opened a probe.
He was arrested in September and charged with grand larceny and money laundering.
Rapfogel had served as CEO and president of the Met Council from 1992.
“I deeply regret the mistakes I have made that led to my departure from the organization,” he said following his ouster by the social service agency.
Rapfogel allegedly inflated the Met Council’s health insurance payments by several hundred thousand dollars a year and then split the proceeds with politicians who supplied grants to the agency.
Rapfogel hosted an annual breakfast that draws many influential political figures.
The Met Council provides employment services, crisis intervention, emergency food and other programs for poor Jewish households.
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