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Toronto ‘rabbi’ led double life, wanted in U.S. for giant immigration scam
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By Steve Mertl | Daily Brew
To members of Toronto's Jewish community he was Rabbi Avraham David, a Torah scholar and author.
But to U.S. investigators he was Earl Seth David, a New York lawyer they allege is behind one of the biggest immigration scams in American history.
David was extradited to the U.S. on Wednesday and appeared in a New York court, where he pleaded not guilty to charges that include conspiracy to commit immigration fraud, making false statements to immigration authorities and money laundering.
The National Post reported David, a dual Canada-U.S. citizen, wrote Code of the Heart, a 2005 book that used numerology and other techniques to decode the Torah, the first five books of the Bible. He claimed to find hidden meanings connected with world events, including the 9/11 terror attacks and the war in Iraq.
But David, 47, was no rabbi. He'd fled the U.S. in 2006 as authorities closed in on his massive immigration scam.
They allege David made millions of dollars processing up to 25,000 falsified immigration applications.
David operated a law firm where he and his cohorts allegedly forged documents to bolster people's applications to stay in the United States, including employment offers from phoney sponsors. The indictment alleges he had help from "corrupt accountants who created fake tax returns for fictitious sponsor companies," and from "a corrupt DOL [Department of Labor] employee," the web site Courthouse News Service reported.
The immigrants typically paid $30,000 for each application, U.S. authorities allege.
David continued the operation even after the investigation began and the New York bar suspended his licence to practice law. He fled to Canada in 2006 but continued to draw funds from his operations until 2009, according to the 21-page indictment.
"Among other means, David's co-conspirators made payments to him from the David firm via accounts held in the name of 'Code of the Heart,' a book that David had authored," the indictment alleged, according to Courthouse News.
David was arrested last October while walking near his home in the Toronto suburb of North York, the Toronto Star reported.
"When he fled to Canada to avoid prosecution, Earl Seth David left thousands of victims of his alleged fraud in his wake — people who believed he was helping them secure legal status and paid him a lot of money to do so," said Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara.
"Thanks to the co-operative efforts of our law enforcement partners here and in Canada, he was apprehended and extradited back to the United States, where he will now face justice."
David's lawyer, Avi Moskowitz, would not comment on the charges, which could net his client up to 50 years in prison. David was held without bail until his next court appearance, The Associated Press reported.
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