Dec.13, 2009

Kars4Kids has a punchy radio jingle that drives some people crazy.

But the Lakewood-based nonprofit organization -- which solicits car donations for disadvantaged children -- is now one of dozens of charities embroiled in a federal court fight involving allegations of a massive, international Ponzi scheme.

At issue are millions in payments to Kars4Kids and more than 60 other registered charities, some of which appear to have quickly kicked the donations back to the donors, often in the space of days, according to court papers.

The allegations don't involve money that's generated when cars are donated to the charity. Instead, the court papers suggest the man at the center of everything, 34-year-old Eliyahu Weinstein, made multimillion-dollar payments to Kars4Kids and other charities as a way to hide assets.

Weinstein, a member of Lakewood's ultra-Orthodox Jewish community, and a former used car salesman, is being sued by former partners across two continents who say he duped many of them -- most of whom are also members of Orthodox Jewish communities -- promising to invest their money in projects that did not exist.

The court filings say Weinstein diverted the funds as part of a complicated pyramid scheme, and also accuse him of trying to hide the money by funneling it through nonprofit organizations like Kars4Kids, as well as two religious charities now the focus of federal money laundering investigations in New Jersey and California.

Parking money in a charity would be like putting it in a secret Swiss bank account, keeping it hidden from creditors, angry investors, the government, or civil court judgments. It might then be redirected in any number of ways.

Attorney Ari Weisbrot of Hackensack, who is representing one of the investors, contends the paper trail of money had all the hallmarks of an elaborate scam.

"There may be potentially legitimate explanations for those transfers," he said. "But in my opinion, they carry the scent of money laundering."

Weinstein, through his attorneys, denied any wrongdoing. He has not been charged with any crime and has not been not mentioned in any of the documents connected with either criminal probe.