NEW JERSEY
Asbury Park Press
Payton Guion and Steph Solis , Asbury Park Press July 6, 2017
Twelve more Lakewood residents were charged Thursday on allegations of welfare fraud, bringing the total number of people charged in the ongoing investigation to 26.
Six Lakewood couples were charged Thursday morning with third-degree theft by deception, collectively defrauding the government of nearly $400,000, according to the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office.
They served warrants on the following:
Eliezer, 33, and Elkie, 31, Sorotzkin, of West Spruce Street, face charges that they illegally collected $74,960 in Medicaid benefits between January 2011 and December 2013.
Samuel, 45, and Esther, 44, Serhofer, of Whispering Pines Lane, face charges that they illegally collected $72,685 in Medicaid benefits between January 2009 and December 2013.
Yisroel, 37, and Rachel, 34, Merkin, of Hermosa Drive, face charges that they illegally collected $70,557.51 in Medicaid, SNAP, and HEAP benefits between January 2011 and December 2014.
Jerome Menchel, 33, and Mottel Friedman, 30, of Pressburg Lane, face charges that they illegally collected $63,839 in Medicaid and SNAP benefits between January 2011 and July 2014.
Tzvi, 35, and Estee, 34, Braun of Ridge Avenue, face charges that they illegally collected $62,746.74 in Medicaid, HEAP, and CICRF benefits between January 2009 and December 2013.
Moshe, 30, and Nechama, 27, Hirschmann, of Emmanuel Drive, face charges that they illegally collected $53,418.39 in Medicaid and SNAP benefits between January 2011 and December 2015. …
Eliezer Sorotzkin is the brother of Zalmen Sorotzkin, a rabbi who was arrested last week on allegations of more than $300,000 in welfare fraud. Eliezer Sorotzkin is also a business partner of Mordechai Breskin, who was arrested last week and faces federal charges in the alleged fraud, according to a source close to the investigation. Public records show that Eliezer Sorotzkin listed a business address the same as Breskin’s residence, at 33 Blue Jay Way.
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