The man who oversaw two of the Claims Conference’s major Holocaust restitution programs was the ringleader of a fraud conspiracy that led to $42.5 million in false claims, the U.S. Attorney’s Office charged.
Perpetuating the myth that the Claims Conference has a billion dollars at its disposal misleads needy Holocaust survivors and makes negotiations with foreign governments even more difficult, Claims Conference chairman Julius Berman writes.
After discovering $7 million in fraudulent payments, the Claims Conference faces questions about whether it will recover the money and how extensive the fraud actually was.