The Rabbi, the Do-Gooder, the Lost $100 Million

The Securities and Exchange Commission, in a civil lawsuit filed along with the criminal case, says that WexTrust diverted $100 million to run the company, cover personal expenses and pay off previous investors.

Rabbi Silver and a number of Orthodox Jews were shocked by Monday's arrest of Mr. Shereshevsky and a business partner at WexTrust Capital, a Chicago-based private-equity firm. Federal prosecutors in New York charged them with raising more than $250 million through a Ponzi scheme -- mainly from Orthodox Jews.

Full-text article by Ianthe Jeanne Dugan is available via the Wall Street Journal, 8.15.08.