Rabbi scheduled to plead
by Rabbi Bentzion Pil was scheduled to enter a guilty plea yesterday in federal court to a felony charge of evading reporting laws, The San Francisco rabbi, who co-founded the now-defunct Jewish Educational Center, raised millions of dollars through auctions o
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Attorneys had turned in a plea agreement just before the hearing began. U.S. District Court Judge Martin Jenkins informed the attorneys that he requires plea agreements to be given to him with sufficient time for him to review case law.
The guilty plea is part of an agreement between Pil and the U.S. Attorney's Office. The charge of willfully structuring banking transactions in order to evade federal reporting laws carries a five-year prison sentence. But Pil's attorneys said last week that the plea agreement includes the stipulation that the rabbi not serve prison time.
The charge covers more than $1.7 million in deposits made during 1995. Federal law requires anyone making a deposit of more than $10,000 to file paperwork. Congress passed the law to try to keep an eye out for drug traffickers and other criminals handling large amounts of cash.
According to court documents, the JEC repeatedly made deposits of $9,990.
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