66 Comments

• mitzvah

  NCFJE-PIDYON SHVUYIM 579 Crown Street Brooklyn N.Y.11213 is the address where you can donate money. Rabbonim paskened that it’s pidyon shivuyim

• Meir

  BS”D

  I believe that he started with honorable intentions and then things spireled out of control,and have defended him every time it comes up in conversation as all of the facts are unknown to the street.

  It took a lot of courage to write this article and I hope people will have the decency to refrain from the negative comments that always pop up here.

  Hashem should give you and the family strength and it says that He gives only what one can overcome(why He has to give anyone pain is not understood)

  If a fund is set up please post it.

  PS: Anticipating the comments from the Rubashkin affair please be advised that when the Rebbaim helped Chassidim in trouble it was irregardless of guilt or innocence. No Jew should sit in jail. Does it help the family or the others involved.

• passing on G-ds money

  Is there a number i can call up with my credit card? i would love to donate over the phoen thank u!

• What about the innocents

  Yes a very sad story that never should have happened.

  Now let’s be fair and hear the sad stories of the families that trusted him and lost all their money in their downpayments and were evicted what happened to them?

• Chaim Moishe

  Sorry I don’t buy it (no pun intended). While I feel awfully bad for your plight, I cannot justify defending your husband. I do recognize that he might not have done so out of greed or malicious intent, the facts are the same. He sought to personally risk the trust of the CH community, this time he lost. I truly wish him well, and no no in jail, but he must come clean and face the facts and repay his debt.

• Mush

  hashem yishmor, what should one believe?!

• member

  seriously we need to help out….the question now is what happened to all the money over 10 years paying a the mortgages? he could have written it off on his taxes? wheres the records?

• A frequent 1227 president visitor

  my heart goes out to Reina, I knew her years ago she is such a wonderful woman, I can’t even imagine the pain she is going through/. Our community must not turn its back we must stand by a fellow Yid..May Hashem help you Reina and your family< and may your family be restored normalcy quickly.

• Your Friend

  I was fortunate to meet Eli in Israel. He was Eli in his true being. He had parted with the lavish lifestyle and was a real person. I had spent much time with him and got to know him on a personal level. I saw him as emes and no b.s.
  On many occassions I witnessed him trying to do what he could to help people. Strangers frequently came over to him to ask him advice about everything. He was always very friendly and ended up putting smile on everyones faces.
  He is a family man and a good husband. Every Shabbos he was with his children at shul in Rechavia. He is very close to all of them and shows each one of them proper attention.
  Only after meeting him did I learn of his unfortunate business dealings in CH. I was able to form an opinion of the situation without the media and Crown Heights hating. Eli simply had a business plan that went wrong. Unfortunately it effected local residents in Crown Heights. People make mistakes and everyone is far from perfect. It happens.
  To judge a person based on if he wears a kippa or not is foolish. Let that be the job of g-d not yours. The intentions of ones self is more important then the levushim he wears.
  The time to have ahavas yisroel is in a time like this. As difficult as it may be to “love a fellow jew” this is everyone’s chance to shine.
  Believe me Eliyahu has suffered plenty. He is a strong person and continues to roll with the punches as hard as they may be thrown at him. All the negativity is simply kicking a man while he is on the ground. All you haters pat yourself on the back for being so tough with your keyboard.
  It’s time for locals to wake up and smell the coffee. A brother needs help, a woman and her children need help. Step up and dont be plagued like Rabbi Akivas students were.
  Eli may g-d bless you and your family. May you overcome all of your struggles and be re-united with your beautiful family.
  Your Friend.

• STOP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  STOP!!!! listening to rumors!!
  Pidyon Shvuyim is the greatest Mitzvah!

• Yossi

  Every $1000 dollar that someone wants to give to Ezagui
  Divide it in half
  Give $500 to Ezaqui
  Give $500 to one of the families that never turned received the deed to their condo

• a neighborhood resident

  Go talk to all the families your husband hurt. He may have started with honorable intentions but he got greedy. He took money from Anash From families many of whom were gullible enough to be trusting & he took their money & never gave them what they were promised, according to the banks never paid their mortgages etc.These families some with many children are now spending thousands of dollars maybe more trying not to get evicted from properties they though they owned acted in good faith & got the royal screw! It is unfortunate your family is suffering but, you must open up your eyes & realize that your husband R”l is now suffering the consequences of his actions. If he was so innocent why did he run in the first Place??? The answer seems to be he knows he’s guilty. He made his own bed now he must sleep in it!

• CN

  Irrespective of whether he is innocent or otherwise, he should be entitled to a proper legal defense, which can be prohibitively expensive.

• get the facts first

  To the person who wrote this:
  “What about the innocents wrote:

  Yes a very sad story that never should have happened.

  Now let’s be fair and hear the sad stories of the families that trusted him and lost all their money in their downpayments and were evicted what happened to them?”

  Before you write, you should get your facts straight! Nobody, not even one person was evicted!!! and nobody will be evicted!!! and the residents of the building know this very well!

• Meir

  BS”D

  Here we go again ( with the bashing ):

  1.Interesting that after mention of the Rubashkin affair the next article is ‘Prosecuters drop charges’.

  2, Remember the Duke Univ. indictment that turned out to be a sham.

  3. One of our very own from a neighorhood in Brooklyn was indicted only to have the charges droped (not won at trial but dropped)by the prosecutors.

  4 To writer ‘what about the innocents’-can you name one person who was evicted and further there are laws to protect people from exactly what happened, yet these people willingly took a risk and skirted the law-what is so innocent about that?(they also ‘lost’ to coin the phrase of writer Chaim Moshe-and to Chaim I also ask will jail help Eli make repaymnet).

  5. To those same two writers who quote ‘facts’ where do you get your facts from-which Mikvah.

  I sure hope Hashem doesn’t judge and collect ‘facts’ the way some of you do

• A CH Resident

  As someone who was coned by this man into not being presented a DEED, I can honestly say that I am SAD for you and your children.

  However, he should have been open with everyone instead of ending up with this mess.

  Shame on him for being selfish with regard to his family.
  Look at how hurt your wife and kids are.

  ANYONE who reads this, TAKE NOTE: Do NOT commit a crime if you don’t want your family to be hurt.

  Countless times, the reason why people feel sorry for a criminal is because of the people affected, FRIENDS and FAMILY.

  Ladies and Gents – DO NOT BE SELFISH. When committing a crime YOU won’t just sit in jail, your loved ones will be in an EMOTIONAL jail until you are released.

  With that said, I am going to donate $500 for your family because I feel bad for THEM.

• Sounds familiar

  “On many occassions I witnessed him trying to do what he could to help people. Strangers frequently came over to him to ask him advice about everything. He was always very friendly and ended up putting smile on everyones faces.
  He is a family man and a good husband.”

  “Eli simply had a business plan that went wrong. People make mistakes and everyone is far from perfect. It happens.”

  Just like Madoff so forgive him also!

• chaim

  Eli is a great man! he’s helped me personally with tzedaka and many others…
  its time to help him and his family out.
  may hashem bless you for all your chessed!

• Not necessarily

  Not if he can show he’s indigent which his wife claims to be. Then they will appoint a lawyer to defend him.

• the consiquences of messra

  and we all thought that mesira was a joke. now crown heights here is the results. sperlin masered rubashkin, shmira masered shomrim, who is next?????

• Lag Bomer

  MAYBE just MAYBE having some ahavas yisroel even when he may not deserve any will make Hashem love us even if we don’t deserve it.

  ANOTHER THING, maybe when the govt officials see how we are oimed al ahadin on this guy, because he did whatever he did, they will say,

  we should be also oimed al hadin when it come to Rubashkin.

  Maybe if they see we have rachmonus and we stich together when things hit the fan, they will have more consideration in the Rubashkin case.

  remember what goes around comes around.

  hob holt a yidden vet der Aibishter dir holt hoben

• Dovber

  While I totally agree Mr.Ezagui deserves proper legal defense, I am amazed that so many seem to be running to his defense. I understand that his wife and family support him and are suffering, but what about all those families that he hurt? What about the families in 770 Lefferts and 613 E. NY that could be thrown out of their homes because of his scam? Better to give them money so they will not lose their homes. They are the real victims here, not Mr. Ezagui. He may have had good intentions, but he is a criminal any many people are suffering due to him. Lets face the facts and not pretend he is a tzaddik.

• A. Lawyeer

  I like Yossi’s idea. If Eli indeed has followed all the advice he got, he got some real bad advice, and illegal too!!

• Hashem Yerachaim!

  How about the families living in the apartment buildings were they thrown out?
  Do they have to cover the defaulted mortgages left over by Izagui?
  Do the tenants have to buy the apartments again?

• dovid h.

  no one is getting evicted!
  can you find even ONE family who is upset?!
  eliyahu ezagui is a person who has always done what the rebbe wanted! no one would be livinf past empire blvd if not for him…what about all the years of mortgages that were paid?
  WHY HAVE 2 CIVIL SUITS BEEN JUDGED IN HIS FAVOR?!!
  JUDGES CANNOT SEE A MONEY TRAIL, BECAUSE HE NEVER PROFITED FROM THIS!
  why are people so blind??!!

• highest score of mesira

  Feel free to visit crownheights-mesira.com
  Only 3 mesiras per user allowed.
  Additional fees may apply to mesiras exceeding the limit.

• enough fighting! pidyon shivuim!!!!

  shocked!!!’
  before any of you continue bashing eliyahu – remember you obviously don’t know the facts!!!!!!!!!!!!
  you choose not to know it because it will make you look foolish!
  Eliyahu never robbed or stole from any of he families- he paid their mortgages for 10 years!!! until he went bankrupt!!!
  and for all you who pass judgement- don’t do to others what you don’T want done to you!!!
  i have not seen an individual or family who has so much emunah and bitachon!!
  its a pity that hared of our own can make you blind to the truth!
  enough already!!
  we are yidden and mostly we are the Rebbes kinder- don’t turn all this into a war!!!!!!
  ad mosai!!!!!!!!!

• CONCERNED SHCHUNE RESIDENT

  TO ALL THE HATERS ON MAKING COMMENTS HASHEM YISHMOR.
  NO JEW SHOULD SIT IN PRISON A MINUTE A HOUR A DAY.

  MOSHIACH WILL NEVER COME IF WE HAVE ALL THIS SINAS CHINOM, HELP THE MAN OUT HASHEM PAYS EVERY MITZVAH BACK NO MITZVAH GOES UNTHANKFUL BY THE ONE ABOVE.

  IF HE IS A GOOD MAN OR A BAD MAN WHO ARE WE TO JUDGE HASHEM JUDGES BOTTOOM LINE HERE IS IF CHAS VESHOLOM THIS WOULD HAPPEN TO ANY OTHER FAMILY IN CH THAT THEY REQUIRE HELP EVERYONE WOULD DO THE SAME TO HELP.
  THE PAIN I FEEL IN MY HEART WHAT PEOPLE SAY HERE PLAIN OUT HATRED YOU MUST BE MISRABLE PEOPLE.

• to get the facts straight

  if nobody is getting evicted then why are thefamilies spending thousands of dollars defending there right to keep their apartments nobody got evicted yetbecause the case is still in court. while I feel bad for his wife and kids eli had plenty chances to do the right thing and give the deeds to the owners but he never did WHY?WHY?WHY?. now that the situation is tht he is suffering everybody blames these families ,who is the one that got this whole mess started?

• CN

  To Whomever suggested he should get a free lawyer by showing he is indigent, you are misguided. A free lawyer is usually worth what you are paying for him or her, and sometimes even less. While there are some good free (legal aid) attorneys, generally speaking they are in the minor leagues and less motivated as compared to the lawyers in private practice who are making the big bucks. Bottom line is a good defense is prohibitively expensive.

• Chayim

  YOU know there are always the people that feel the need to say bad about everyone maybe it makes them feel good, maybe their just mean im not really sure what it is..
  but its very important to check your facts before you say anything- esspecially durning this time of sefira..
  this is pure lashon hara ppl are saying. esspecialy since they ARE makeing up facts.
  Eliyahu is a good man who is constantly helping out people in whatever way he can.
  and he should be blessed for that!
  And THE PEOPLE FROM THE APARTMENTS ARE NOT I REPEAT NOT GETTING THROWN OUT!!

• The real lesson.

  Anash should take this as a lesson to teach our kids that crime does not pay. A gvir once told me: all successful people started by fanneigeling the system and proceeded to name a bunch of CH gvirim and there skirting the laws in earlier years. Until our children are taught that an honest living, no matter how many zeros in the bank account, is the ideal we will continue to see repeats of this type of story.

  Eli is a mentch in many ways but he is unfortunatly a product of our system. Tzedokoh and bsiver ponim yofos are wonderful but not when it is on the cheshbon of others that are suffering due to your actions.

• CHer

  Does anyone know what the story with the condos really is.
  As an insider I will tell you. The condos were worth about $300,000 when sold. Few were sold for that and those that chose to pay the fair market value got their deed. Then there was an option, If you were willing to forfeit the deed the cost would be $100,000 and it was agreed the the rest of the money would be made by investing the mortgage which would be taken by the one that still had the deed.
  In short those who wanted to pay less were renting the property for $100,000 for an undisclosed amount of time. There was never a plan to evict as you can see from the other buildings.
  When the investments went south the tenets said they were scammed so that the bank wouldn’t evict them. That wouldn’t have happened anyway but that’s not the point. The point is that everything was in the open and everyone knew what they were getting into.
  DON’T GO AROUND BLAMING EVERYONE FOR YOUR ISSUES!!!

• reuven from miami

  I lived and paid $875. each and every month for almost five years at 621 e ny ave on the third floor. my name is Reuven.

  i am not ashamed of what i am about to say.

  i also know ezagui from aventura chabad where he bought many an alia

  as a renter we all acumulate many a difference with the landlord.
  from time to time these apts on eny were vermon infested and kept unsanitary mostly by the crap quality people he rented tin any event when i approached ezagui for the umpteenth time his reply was “if you dont like it move”
  I did..
  the impression i have of him is of a person that doesnt care about anyone but himself

  He certainly didn’t care enough of his family by doing the things forcing then Not to have a father

  i wish him well in his new venture and hope that the next time he attempts to rebuild he works on his nishama

• To Yossi & A lawyeer

  “Every $1000 dollar that someone wants to give to Ezagui
  Divide it in half. Give $500 to Ezaqui.Give $500 to one of the families that never turned received the deed to their condo”

  Half?? That would be unfair!!

  Fair would be to divide it among ALL the parties equally. As such, if there are 9 families plus Eli, each would get a TENTH…if 19 families plus Eli, each would get a 1/20 etc.

  That way, each party gets equal assistance for the legal battles they face to retain their homes and in Eli’s case – his liberty.

• a tzedaka giver org

  The story in short was that he put the apartments he sold to private people, on his own and mother names. Then everytime, someone asked for the deed, he pushed the issue asside.

  Yes, he was trying to do a very shifty unhonest business deal, trying to invest money, which he should have never gotten in the first place, (lying that the apartments belonged to him, while it really belonged to someone else).

  Instead of us paying for the family to get lawers for Mr. Ezagui to help set him free, which is extremly unlikely. perhaps, the money can be invested to help his family, Mr. Ezagui, and all the other families.

  Mr. Ezagui should not run away from truth, he should write a letter to the families stating that he is extremly sorry what he did, and admit that he did something wrong.
  He should admit truthfully what he did, and promise a plan to the families, how he will 100 percent get them out of the trouble he caused.

  Then with the money we are raising we can’t put it into a fund to help the families as well as the ezagui famliy, get out of this mess.

  If Mr Ezagui can’t do this, and be ready to admit fully his wrongs, with a clear cut plan how to get out of this mess, then we are simply putting tzedaka money to waste.

  What do you think? is there a real point in giving money.

• a crown heights resident

  This is scary> The Rebbe’s community – we should be masters in Ahavas Yisroel :-).
  Does anyone have the faintest idea of what it means for a child to grow up with their father in jail. What pain?? Embarrassment? Loneliness? The pain of a woman without her husband! who’s oldest son has lost his right arm. This is a tragedy and they need our support, with WORDS AND money. These poor children, this poor woman, and poor Eliyahu – who may have made some mistakes (unlike the rest of us including all of you perfect people who commented above!!!). We are created betzelem Elokim – let’s try and live with love and forgiveness.
  The anger is not constructive for those who lost their apartments, money or deeds, that is dreadfully sad, and re-opening their wounds is certainly not helpful to them.
  I hope that they will find peace and solutions.
  In the meantime a Jew – and his wife and INNOCENT children need our help.
  Let’s do it…

• A Crown Heights Resident

  First let me say that my heart goes out to Mrs. Ezagui who likely had no knowledge of her husband’s business dealings, and was likely handed documents and told to simply sign them. Why would she question her husband?

  A father accused of a crime or sitting in jail is a terrible tragedy and affects every single member of the household. This should remind everyone, Jew and non-Jew alike, that being honest in all our dealings is the proper and Torahdik way.

  *MRS. Ezagui* and her children deserve our support. It is our responsibility to see that she and her children have their basic needs met. Mr. Ezagui put himself into this situation; it is his responsibility to prepare and pay for a legal defense.

  That being said, as I have commented previously regarding this matter:

  Mr. Ezagui over the years has had a profitable business building apartments in the neighborhood. In almost all his developments he offered deals on apartments prior to construction that you got a considerable discount if you paid 100% up front prior to the commencement of building. This allowed Mr. Ezagui access to cash on hand rather than rely on lines of credit from assorted banks. Upon completion and a Certificate of Occupancy, Mr. Ezagui was supposed to give these individuals the deeds to their apartments; which they were lawfully owed because they had purchased them prior to building.

  What Mr. Ezagui is standing accused of is that instead of placing the deeds in the hands of the rightful owners he instead had the deeds issued to himself and family members, had mortgages issued on the properties and used the funds from the mortgages for other projects. Again instead of rely on the usual lines of credit from a bank. It’s like taking out of one pocket instead of the other with the intention that you’ll pay the first pocket back. This was unbeknownst to the people who *had already paid in advance for their apartments*.

  Except allegedly Mr. Ezagui failed to continue to pay the mortgages and then the banks went to foreclose on the apartments. The people who thought they owned the properties but had never received deeds got eviction notices. That was how all this came to light.

  Let me state it clearly and unequivocally: Mr. Ezagui was not doing these people a chessed and giving them a place to live for free or paying their mortgages for them. Allegedly he took their money and never gave them a deed for their property.

• Hold my thoughts

  I have my own strong thoughts and opinions on this subject but it’s a very sensetive subject. Since I don’t have all the information from both sides, as hard as it is for me I’m not going to comment.’

  Now that feels good.

• tenant

  i geuss his wife doesnt know her husband. hes a criminal, instead of giving the money he recieved for the apartments to the banks he kept it for himself. its not rumers its true i know the story being im one of the tenants of the building s who might be kicked out thanks to this criminal.
  may he be judged correctly

• ENOUGH TALK!!!!!!!!

  ENOUGH!!
  PIDYON SHVUIM IS THE MITZVAH HERE!
  DO YOU ALL KNOW BETTER THEN THE MITZVAH??
  ITS WRITTEN FOR US TO DO IT REGARDLESS OF WHAT ANYONE SAYS!!

• CSC

  Unfortunately I hear so many of these stories nowadays in the Jewish communities — the latest scam, the latest fugitive to Israel — that it’s become numbing, more than painful. While I don’t know Mr. Ezagui personally, much less had dealings with him, I can only shake my head in cynicism.

  We Jews are going to have to redefine the concept of pidyon shevuyim. Rescuing a Jew from an anti-Semitic government or official is one thing; allowing someone to break the law is something else. This isn’t Russia. Or Nazi Germany. The days where we can automatically claim moral superiority are over. We Yidden must be responsible for our actions.

  If you willfully break the law, you go to jail. Period. Had Mr. Ezagui been black or Hispanic, people here would be cheering. For his situation, I feel neither sad nor glad — only sorrow for the collateral damage people like him inflict. Thanks to people like him, the innocent must suffer — not only his wife, who was probably unaware of everything, but those who now face eviction or bankruptcy.

• Shmuli

  To: A tzedokoh giver:

  Mr. Ezagui isn’t going to give any public apologies. Neither would you if you were in middle of a courtcase! It would be asking to go to prison!

  To everyone else: It’s Lag Ba’omer! Have Ahavas Yisroel. This is pure Loshon Horoh. Although I realize that people were hurt, this is not the place to fight.

• CHGUY

  the only one that needs to be rescued here maybe is the wife and kids. This is no better then a Madoff scheme. Just another route and method but the same idea…too bad :(

• it ts a mitzvah! enough fighting!!!!!!!!

  enough already!!!!!!!
  stop the fighting!
  there is a mitzvah of pidyon shivuim here and it does apply here!!!!!!!!!!!
  stop the loshen hara as it will only cause more hatred- it helps no one!!!!!
  the truth will come out eventually !

• MUSHKA

  EVERYONE—-YES YOU WHO READS THIS COMMENT NOW TOO!
  EVERYONE MESSES UP. SOMETIMES IN A SMALL WAY SOMETIMES BIG,
  AS CHASSIDIM, AS HUMANS, DECENT PEOPLE, WE MUST HELP EACH OTHER OUT -NO MATTER WHAT
  WOULDN’T YOU WANT THAT TO BE DONE FOR YOU TOO, WHEN YOU C”V MAY NEED IT?

  THIS IS REAL GOLUS. WE LIVE IN CONFUSION. BUT WE DO KNOW PAIN; ALL OF US DO.
  LET US LEAVE HASHEM TO PASS THE JUDGEMENTS AND DO WHAT WE ARE MEANT TO DO – HELP ANOTHER JEW WHEN THEY SO DESPERATLY NEED IT.
  WE NEED MOSHIACH NOW!

• awacs

  “How about the families living in the apartment buildings were they thrown out?”

  No, not yet. They’re fighting in court.

  “Do they have to cover the defaulted mortgages left over by Izagui?”

  Maybe. That’s what the courts are looking at.

  “Do the tenants have to buy the apartments again?”

  No, they’ll get deeds. sooner or later. Of course, the mortgages stay on the property unless removed, and (for someone who thought they’d paid for their property upfront) to find out that your property is mortgaged – and *you* didn’t get the loan proceeds – can sure put a damper on your day.

• this is answer to CHer wrote

  correction to the genius that thinks he knows it all. ezaugi’s asking price and market price at the time of construction was $180,000 with the deed and $110,000 with no deed. since everyone thought ezaugi was honest and with the rebbe’s letter that he showed everyone. people were naive and trusting and thinking they were saving $70,000 (that was alot of money at the time) bought the apartments or so they thought. then ezaugi took out morgages on the apartments which he had deeded to his family members. remember, to get a morgage you have to sign papers you live in the apartments, which they did not live in, but they signed the papers anyway to get the illegal morgages. ezaugi took out morgages on each apartment for $250,000 -$450,000. remember, the apartments at that time were only worth $180,000. so, between the innocent purchasers and the banks morgages he got between $360,000 to $560,000 for each apartment. now you do the math. now tell me who you feel sorry for, mr. ezaugi or the innocent families that might be evicted pending on the legal battle and settling with each individual bank. this costs the apartment owners hundreds of thousands of dollars. if ezaugi would of worked with the apartment owners which they begged him to do for years, and if he would of stayed in israel like he was warned time and again he would not be where he is today and his family would not be in such agony.

• to dovid h

  THERE WERE NO CIVIL SUITS JUDGED IN EZAUGI”S FAVOR

• A tzedaka giver org

  to Shmuli:

  If he were to write a letter, showing some sort of apology from his side, plus a plan of action how to get out of this mess, i am sure, he will be able to get out of this mess.

  Chances of him not going to jail are basilcy impossible, if he were to write this letter, writing what he did wrong, how he will correct it, and how he is trully sorry, forsure the judge will minimize his jail time.

  Just helping this guy lie, is not supporting anything good.
  If you got a child, who did something wrong, and you dont direct him to correct his wrongs, you are just a complete fool.

• mendel

  and whats with the ferrari in FL that you husbean had for all this time you think that we dont know about it

• Boruch N. Hoffinger

  BS”D
  I wish Mr. Ezagui a chance for his ‘day in court’ to clear his name. I feel terrible for his family.

• Yechiel.

  Fellow Jews,

  This is a very simple situation. Whether or not you know the situation that happened in exact detail, there is a Mitzvah upon us all to save a fellow Jew from going to jail. The Mitzvah does not differentiate between someone who is innocent or not. But the point that you should take into consideration is that G-D the eternal judge of us all, will judge both you and Eli. IF YOU DO THE RIGHT THING IN THIS SITUATION, G-D WILL PAY YOU BACK IN KIND, as G-d will do with Eli.

  You are not a Judge, not on a Beis Din nor in the Public legal system, for if you were, you would not judge this case without ALL of the facts. So, just resign to not knowing the details, and be blessed that you have a chance to part-take in this amazing Mitzvah. G-d is sure to pay you back in kind.

  Remember as well that we are in the times of Sfirah and the one thing that we should definitely be more careful about it speaking bad about someone else. WHETHER OR NOT THEY DID A BAD THING.

• Devorah Leah Andrusier

  The United States of America gave us the right of Freedom of Speech, Hashem did not!! If you want to help the Ezagui family then help them. If you don’t want to help them don’t help them. Keep your mouths closed!! Shame on all of you and shame on this site and others like it for posting comments the likes of these!! 24,000 students of Rabbi Akiva died for much less than this.

• asr

  To All,

  Our collective soul is in pain.

  We all have an obligation to defend and uphold every Jew.

  And if G-d forbid anyone excludes or bears a grudge or distances themselves from any Jew. Than their tefilot are rejected. .

  We all have an obligation to help, and with all the Chabad Chassidim and all their communities…around the Globe, the money needed for an awesome attorney can be easily easily raised.

  The time to act is now, no one would deny their child, remember this is a child in trouble, this is a wife in pain these are children crying.

  Lets open our minds, our hearts, , and our hands…
  .

• Pidyon Shvuyim

  The Mitzva of Pidyon Shvuim is to EVERY SINGLE YID!

• TO ASR

  asr, will you be there to give and help the families that have been paying hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees to keep their roof over their head (which they bought)
  and continue to pay and collect for them when they will have to pay unpaid morgage bills that ezaugi was supposed to pay plus todays market price to keep thier apartments? will you!!! what happens to all of those innocent people. would love to see your response

• to dl andrusier

  i wonder what you would say or do if it was you or your family or friends who bought an apartment from azaugi and received an eviction notice in the mail. would you keep quiet???? i know you wouldn’t!

• asr

  First, Any allegations can be confirmed or disputed in a court of law. That is why there are courts to determine what happened, to view things from every concievable perspective. And for that to happen proper representation is required,to arrive at the truth.

  Second, we have to help all those who need help, just read this weeks parsha.

  Third, the collective community and the individual have the obligation to give the benefit of the doubt to everyone, just think of the famous story of Rabbi Akiva who worked for someone for a period of time, and when payment time came around the employer had no funds to pay, to which Rabbi Akiva found a way to give them the benefit of the doubt.
  And eventually Rabbi Akiva was paid and in Full.

  Lastly, what happened had to happenas everything is Hasgach Pratit, my heart and everyone elses ought to go out to everyone involved, all we can do is respond correctly according to Torah and Halacha. That means following the example of Rabbi Akiva, Melamed Zechyut and action to help resolve what needs to be resolved. If we come together am certain it will work out for everyone.

  Again, i encourage everyone to have the courage to overlook our feelings and help in everyway possible, and send money for the hiring of attorney as quickly as possible for eliyahu, his wife and his family.

  LOL

  asr

• Devorah Leah Andrusier

  You obviously missed the point. I am neither judge nor jury. I repeat …..just stop talking!!!

• 770 Lefferts Resident

  HE’S OBVIOUSLY GUIILTY…WHAT’S TO DEFEND???

  he robbed families of thousands of dollards of life savings and casued a huge CHILUL HASHEM. besides the fact that much of what he built was lousy.

  the fact that he ran away to israel shows his guilt. why would a wife be so nieve and stick by a rasha?!

• asr

  Nothing is obvious, and because nothing is obvious there is plenty to discover, and that is what defense is about, discovery of the whole truth.

  Sadly, presenting only some of the facts and not all is precisely what is wrong, and that is what a defense does it allows all the facts to come out.

  May all who let there emotions, dominate their adherance to Torah have a Refuah Shelema.

  Please do not use this venue, to accuse, vent, and cause harm to the family or Mr. Ezagui….as it will not fix anything or help anyone, it will only harm, the messenger the reader, and the accussed.

• Montrealer

  What this man did was wrong wrong wrong… however he deserves a fair trial. I personally will help.
  I hope his wife and children benefit from this money as well.

• RODEF SHALOM

  Few people here are familiar with the details of the deal offered to the tenants.

  And even fewer give it any attention.

  NOONE OWNS PROPERTY WITHOUT THE DEED!!!

  Additionally, if Mr Ezagui maintained legal ownership of the units, being the deed holder; as outlined in the deal, HE owns the unit!

  Only two people so far commented on the fact that at the time of the mortgaging Mr Ezagui WAS the legal owner of those units to which he held the deeds to, regardless of what the tenants paid.

  Obviously his intention was to capitalize on his ownership of the deed, otherwise, why bother offering to put up HIS OWN money to pay for the remainder of the deed price in addition to the amount paid by the non-deed holders.

  Obviously these families couldn’t come up with a mortgage (prior to building) to cover the cost of a unit, and what Mr Ezagui was proposing was NOT a traditional mortgage arrangement for those who didn’t want to pay in full.

  He obviously was planning on investing the value of the deeds he controlled to MAKE MONEY, not lose the principal value of the deed.

  What happened to his investments?!
  He obviously didn’t just run off with the money (like Madoff) or he & his family would have no financial troubles.
  Is the money gone, or just frozen by the authorities because tenants made claims and informed on him, because they didnt realize what leaving someone else with the deed means.

  Is it possible that when the tenants were paid in full, the money from the deeds’ mortgages was tied up in investments, and they were offered a percentage of the return on investment when completed, but instead claimed they were being cheated?!

  For some reason it seems many here has invented all the details necessary to construct this story into the conclusion of their choice.

  HEVAY DUN ES KOL HO’ODOM LEKAF ZECHUS!!!!!

  For all those who have negativity to say about business dealings they are unfamiliar with (even those who themselves were involved, but know nothing of business in-general) bear in mind, we are to give EVERYONE the benefit of the doubt, even someone CONVICTED in a legal court (ba”h)!!!!!

• Rodef Shalom

  Few people here are familiar with the details of the deal offered to the tenants.

  And even fewer give it any attention.

  NOONE OWNS PROPERTY WITHOUT THE DEED!!!

  Additionally, if Mr Ezagui maintained legal ownership of the units, being the deed holder; as outlined in the deal, HE owns the unit!

  Only two people so far commented on the fact that at the time of the mortgaging Mr Ezagui WAS the legal owner of those units to which he held the deeds to, regardless of what the tenants paid.

  Obviously his intention was to capitalize on his ownership of the deed, otherwise, why bother offering to put up HIS OWN money to pay for the remainder of the deed price in addition to the amount paid by the non-deed holders.

  Obviously these families couldn’t come up with a mortgage (prior to building) to cover the cost of a unit, and what Mr Ezagui was proposing was NOT a traditional mortgage arrangement for those who didn’t want to pay in full.

  He obviously was planning on investing the value of the deeds he controlled to MAKE MONEY, not lose the principal value of the deed.

  What happened to his investments?!
  He obviously didn’t just run off with the money (like Madoff) or he & his family would have no financial troubles.
  Is the money gone, or just frozen by the authorities because tenants made claims and informed on him, because they didnt realize what leaving someone else with the deed means.

  Is it possible that when the tenants were paid in full, the money from the deeds’ mortgages was tied up in investments, and they were offered a percentage of the return on investment when completed, but instead claimed they were being cheated?!

  For some reason it seems many here has invented all the details necessary to construct this story into the conclusion of their choice.

  HEVAY DUN ES KOL HO’ODOM LEKAF ZECHUS!!!!!

  For all those who have negativity to say about business dealings they are unfamiliar with (even those who themselves were involved, but know nothing of business in-general) bear in mind, we are to give EVERYONE the benefit of the doubt, even someone CONVICTED in a legal court (ba“h)!!!!!

  Lastly, nearly everyone posting negativity are publicly showing they have been mekabel LOSHON HORA, and are being MOTZEI SHEM RA on someone from their own community, when the only facts they have are gossip!!!!!
  ”And ALL the world will fill with the knowledge of Hashem, like water covers the sea.”

  Be well.

• guilty or not

  so what happned to all the millions of dollars he made?????dont buy it either