Rabbi Who Claimed to Rescue Holocaust Torahs Arrested on Fraud Charges

JTA

Menachem Youlus, a rabbi who claimed that he rescued Torah scrolls lost during the Holocaust, was arrested on fraud charges and accused of fabricating the stories.

Youlus, the founder of Save a Torah, was arrested on Wednesday and charged with one count of mail fraud and one count of wire fraud. Federal prosecuters also accused Youlus of embezzling money from his charity for personal use and making up his stories of rescuing Torahs seized by tte Nazis.

“Menachem Youlus called himself the ‘Jewish Indiana Jones,’ but his alleged exploits were no more real than those of the movie character he claimed to resemble,” said Preet Bharara, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, in a statement.

The U.S. Attorney’s office said that Torah scrolls that Younus claimed to have rescued had been purchased from local dealers and lacked any connection to the Holocaust. The office also said that during many of the years in which Youlus claimed to be personally rescuing Torahs overseas, the Maryland resident had not even traveled internationally. The statement said that Save a Torah had raised $1.2 million in contributions from 2004 to 2010.

Youlus gained public notoriety after a January 2010 Washington Post article raised doubts about the veracity of his claims.

“Menachem Youlus’ indictment is welcome news to all who are concerned with the integrity of Holocaust memory,” said Menachem Rosensaft, vice president of the American Gathering of Jewish Holocaust Survivors and Their Descendants.

Youlus could not be reached by JTA for comment, and The Associated Press reported that it’s not clear who is representing him in court.

11 Comments

  • Please

    DEAR SCAMMING FRUM JEWS,

    PLease do us all a favor and stay out of the news.

    Thanks,
    Your G-d Fearing and law abiding brethren

  • Zev

    This is by far one of the nicest people you will ever meet. I bought my teffillin from him as did thousands of others. Very fine family, great middos. This is another Rubashkin story. I would like to see all of the Lubavitchers rally for Youlus as they do for Rubashkin.

  • avi

    RSA
    do you even know Rabbi Youlus? Have you ever met him? How can you even write such a comment:
    “what a pathetic person, how does he live inside himself.
    HE is a special man who has done much chesed for many people

  • Boruch

    He’s a literal thief. A scoundrel for stealing people’s gelt. Let them ship him up to Upstate NY Prison and let him sit there figuring out why he sinned against the Jewish nation. Another Madoff in disguise.

  • We all know what Dwek rhymes with

    Youlus sold kosher sifrei Torah to treyf congregations who were mechalel them regardless of their origins. For that alone, he is no Rubashkin – he is more like a Dwek.