From here to affinity
Disturbing news out of Lakewood: NJ developer Eliyahu Weinstein is alleged to have defrauded a Miami investor — and fellow Orthodox Jew — Harvey D. Wolinetz out of some $78.5 million in loans and investments. An article on the lawsuit suggests it is a case of “affinity” fraud, in that Weinstein gained Wolinetz’s trust by invoking their common Orthodox ties:
Wolinetz’s trust was “founded on the fact that both men come from the same Orthodox Jewish community,” the suit states. “Instead, Weinstein exploited Mr. Wolinetz’s trust by defrauding him.”
Besides Weinstein, the 27-page lawsuit names as defendants Weinstein’s wife, Rivka Bichler, and two other couples: Simcha and Elana Shain and Michael and Barbara Gindi, who live in the Lakewood, N.J., area.
Awful fodder for those inclined to bash the Orthodox, especially non-Orthodox Jews who think Orthodox Jews are inherently unethical in their business practices. I can’t tell you how many conversations I have with fellow Jews who want to share stories of Orthodox malfeasance. I find it maddening and do my best to explain that every group has its “outliers” and shouldn’t be judged on the basis of its nogoodniks. At the same time, I realize that a crime in a religious community is always going to be magnified since there is the outside expectation that its members should be above such things (not to mention all the Oedipal stuff going on). And the more sheltered a community the more it’s likely to breed suspicion (unless you’re Amish, when everything you do looks adorable from the outside).
Jewish groups do a good job monitoring gentile attitudes toward Jews. Maybe it’s time we got to work on Jewish attitudes toward Jews.
JustASC is written by Andrew Silow-Carroll, Editor-in-Chief of the 
January 17th, 2008 at 2:34 pm
I think that many non-Orthodox are so tired of having their religious views vilified by the Orthodox, that there is an unfortunate tendency to gloat when one of the Orthodox seems to display a lack of fidelity to basic moral values. If the non-Orthodox community seems to demonstrate better observance of commonly held ethical standards than the Orthdox community, one has to wonder about the value of the rest of their religious convictions.
January 20th, 2008 at 1:33 pm
For another example of such an affinity fraud allegation, this time in Baltimore, Orthodox Beth Tfiloh Congregation and its affiliated Day School filed a $25 million lawsuit against local developer Howard S. Brown and two of his business entities. According to the story at http://www.jewishtimes.com/index.php/jewishtimes/news/jt/cover_story/beth_tfiloh_suit_seeks_25_million/ , “The suit states that Mr. Brown, a former Beth Tfiloh congregant who held a “position of prominence and trust” there, “engaged in various self-dealing business ventures” at the expense of the Pikesville synagogue.” Mark Berch
December 14th, 2009 at 9:47 pm
I certainly appreciate the last sentence of this article, “Maybe it’s time we got to work on Jewish attitudes toward Jews.”
It truly bothers me to no end that “some” in the Jewish community actually think themselves “above” others in the world. That’s all fine and dandy “if” the Jewish members who feel this way actually hold themselves up to a “higher” standard of living; one that others can look upon and might actually admire. But, if you are doing terribly wrong things, continuously, things that are “not” being done at a higher level, you certainly deserve any negative feedback that should come of it…
This kind of case is not rare, here in Lakewood, where I happen to reside. In fact, it’s becoming all too common place. Everyone, including the Orthodox, will be held accountable for their actions. The Jewish community needs to stop thinking they are “above” the laws that are in place for “all”. It’s that kind of arrogance that gives the entire community a very bad name – I’ve study scripture for years, and trust me, its not written, anywhere, that the Jewish community is entitled to breaking the laws of the land. And now, committing fraud against your own people???!!! What’s going on here?!!!
It’s shameful…
December 31st, 2009 at 10:46 am
Despite what the charedi, or ultra-orthodox newspapers depict Lakewood as, this city suffers the same ills and problems as those cities whose orthodox residents are held to a lesser standard!