More arrests made in public benefit fraud case

<p>More arrests have been made in an expanding public welfare fraud scheme investigation in Ocean County.</p>

News 12 Staff

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Jun 28, 2017, 12:38 PM

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Updated 2,504 days ago

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More arrests have been made in an expanding public welfare fraud scheme investigation in Ocean County.

The Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office conducted several raids at Lakewood homes Tuesday night, resulting in the arrests of three couples. The arrests come after four other couples, including a rabbi and his wife, were charged Monday with defrauding Medicaid and other public assistance programs of over $1 million -- bringing the total to about $2 million.

The prosecutor’s office identified the three married couples arrested just before midnight Tuesday as follows:

Yitzchock Kanarek, 33, and Sora Kanarek, 39, of Brisk Lane, who are charged with second-degree theft by deception for wrongfully collecting approximately $339,002.56 in Medicaid, SNAP, HUD and SSI benefits between January 2009 and July 2014.
Chaim Ehrman, 40, and Liatt Ehrman, 39, of Twin Oaks Drive, who are charged with second-degree theft by deception for wrongfully collecting approximately $185,692.22 in Medicaid, SNAP, HEAP and Sandy benefits between January 2011 and December 2015.
William Friedman, 45, and Faigy Friedman, 40, of Leigh Drive, who are charged with second-degree theft by deception for wrongfully collecting approximately $149,842.28 in Medicaid, SNAP, HEAP and HUD benefits between January 2011 and December 2015.

The couples appeared in court Wednesday afternoon to face the charges. All three couples were released without bail but are banned from leaving the country.

Officials say that the investigation is ongoing and more arrests are possible.

The Associated Press wire services contributed to this report.