New York Hasidic School Admits to Benefit Fraud Conspiracy, Agrees to Pay $8 Million

The Department of Justice (DOJ) logo is pictured on a wall in New York on Dec. 5, 2013. Carlo Allegri/Reuters

A Hasidic school in Brooklyn, New York, has agreed to pay $5 million in penalties to resolve an investigation into its allegedly fraudulent conduct, including the illegal use of millions of dollars of government funding for “entirely fictitious” programs, according to the Department of Justice.

The Central United Talmudical Academy in Brooklyn (CUTA), which serves more than 4,600 students in Williamsburg, agreed to pay $5 million in penalties, in addition to over $3 million in restitution it has already paid out, prosecutors announced on Oct. 24.