Founder of "Save a Torah" Arrested On Federal Fraud Charges

In a press release yesterday, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York announced the arrest on one count each of mail and wire fraud of Menachem Youlus, founder of the "Save a Torah" charity.  Youlus claimed he rescued Torah scrolls that were lost or hidden in Europe during the Holocaust.  The rescued Torahs were then donated or sold to Jewish communities or synagogues in the United States and elsewhere. Youlus used his accounts of how the Torahs were rescued to raise over $1.2 million in contributions.  The complaint unsealed yesterday charges that many of the Torahs represented as "rescued" were in fact merely purchased by Youlus from Torah dealers in the United States and lacked any connection to the Holocaust. Youlus also is charged with embezzling funds from Save a Torah for his personal use and submitting false invoices for purported costs of rescuing Torahs. JTA reports on the case.