The affordable housing lottery has launched for 1976 Needham Avenue, a four-story residential building in Edenwald, The Bronx. Designed by Nikolai Katz Architect and developed by Moishe Fischman, the structure yields 15 residences. Available on NYC Housing Connect are three units for residents at 80 percent of the area median income (AMI), ranging in eligible income from $74,880 to $146,560.
At 80 percent of the AMI, there is one studio with a monthly rent of $2,040 for incomes ranging from $74,880 to $108,560; and two two-bedrooms with a monthly rent of $2,583 for incomes ranging from $96,103 to $146,560.
Prospective renters must meet income and household size requirements to apply for these apartments. Applications must be postmarked or submitted online no later than September 8, 2026.
The Justice Department announced the unsealing of a nine-count Indictment charging Louis Trejo, also known as “Machete;” Kenneth Garner, also known as “KG;” Harold Stevenson, also known as “Bazz;” and Erihk Belis, also known as “Eddie” with racketeering, violence in aid of racketeering, firearms, fraud, narcotics, and money laundering offenses for their roles in a wide ranging racketeering conspiracy involving the fabrication of transportation data used to support over at least $12 million of fraudulent Medicaid claims.
The defendants, members of a Bronx-based racketeering organization known as the “War Room,” logged fake rides for Medicaid patients to and from methadone clinics in the Bronx, paid recurring kickbacks to Medicaid patients in cash and drugs, and laundered millions of dollars in fraud proceeds obtained from the scheme. To protect and expand their racketeering conspiracy, Trejo, Garner, and other members of the War Room also engaged in violence against their rivals, including a Jan. 12, 2024, armed home invasion robbery of the leader of a rival fraud ring in Teaneck, New Jersey. Trejo, Garner, and Belis were arrested this morning and are expected to be arraigned today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert W. Lehrburger in Manhattan federal court. Stevenson remains at large. The case is assigned to District Judge John G. Koeltl.
“These allegations underscore the troubling connection between benefits fraud and violent criminal networks,” said Assistant Attorney General Colin M. McDonald of the Justice Department’s National Fraud Enforcement Division. “As charged, the defendants are accused of targeting vulnerable patients, defrauding a critical healthcare program, and turning to violence to protect their fraudulent scheme. I commend the prosecutors and agents of the Southern District of New York for their dedicated work in bringing these serious allegations forward.”
“As alleged, members of the War Room perpetrated a massive fraud scheme that preyed upon the addiction of vulnerable Medicaid patients, defrauded a vital federal healthcare program, and caused over $12 million in losses to American taxpayers,” said U.S. Attorney Jamie McDonald for the Southern District of New York. “To protect and grow their scheme, War Room members allegedly peddled deadly drugs, committed an armed robbery against a rival fraud ring, and laundered their profits. Today’s arrests dismantled the War Room’s racketeering operation and demonstrate that we will relentlessly pursue those who defraud federal benefit programs and endanger our communities through drugs and violence.”
“These defendants are accused of masterminding a brazen scheme built on greed and exploitation, turning Medicaid-funded addiction treatment transportation into a multimillion-dollar criminal pipeline through fake ride data, GPS spoofing, kickbacks, narcotics, and money laundering,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Pete Gizas of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), New York Field Office. “Far from a victimless fraud, this alleged racketeering operation exploited vulnerable patients seeking treatment, stole from a taxpayer-funded healthcare program, and injected narcotics and violence into the criminal enterprise. When their profits were threatened, members of the ‘War Room’ allegedly escalated to armed violence, including with a home invasion during which victims were restrained, assaulted, cut, and held at gunpoint. As a co-leader of the Homeland Security Task Force, HSI New York will continue working relentlessly with our partners to expose violent fraud enterprises, disrupt their financial networks, and hold alleged perpetrators accountable.”
“The alleged scheme exploited individuals seeking addiction treatment and diverted millions in federal health care funds,” said Special Agent in Charge Naomi D. Gruchacz of the New York Regional Office of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG). “This investigation highlights our commitment to working with Homeland Security Investigations and other law enforcement partners to pursue fraudsters who undermine the Medicaid program and the needs of its enrollees.”
“These arrests send a clear message: exploiting Medicaid for personal gain will not be tolerated,” said Inspector in Charge Ketty Larco-Ward of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), New York Division. “These individuals allegedly stole millions from a program designed to protect some of our most vulnerable citizens, and in doing so, betrayed the trust of the public. Postal Inspectors will defend against all types of fraudsters, and I commend the hard work and partnership of our federal and state partners to ensure all are held fully accountable under the law.”
“These defendants allegedly engaged in a systematic fabrication of data and kickbacks to steal over $12 million at the expense of New Yorkers in need,” said New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli. “Medicaid is a vital program, and my office will continue to work with law enforcement to hold people who try to defraud it accountable. I thank the United States Attorney and federal law enforcement for their work with my office to bring these defendants to justice.”
As alleged in the Indictment, from at least in or about 2023 through at least in or about 2025, the defendants, led by Trejo and Garner, operated the War Room, a criminal enterprise responsible for generating fake ride data used to support millions of dollars in fraudulent reimbursement claims to Medicaid for methadone clinic transportation services. The defendants operated out of an office in Trejo’s residence they referred to as the “War Room,” and engaged in, among other things, criminal acts involving wire fraud, healthcare fraud, violations of the Anti-Kickback Statute, narcotics distribution, robbery, firearms use, and money laundering.
To obfuscate their criminal activity, the defendants operated the War Room under the guise of a legitimate charity they called the “Forward Foundation.” In reality, the Forward Foundation was a front for the criminal activities of the War Room. An organizational chart drawn on a white board located inside Trejo’s residence, depicted below, identified each defendant’s nominal role. Trejo, identified as “Lou,” is the “CEO.” Garner, identified as “KG,” is the “COO.” Stevenson, identified as “Bazz,” is an “outreach member m[ana]g[e]r.” Belis, identified as “Erihk,” is “Vice President.”
Here's this week's edition of the VCJC News and Notes email. We hope you enjoy it and find it useful!
If you require an aliyah or would like to lead services, read from the torah or haftorah, please speak to one of the gabbaim.
Our enhanced kiddush has been a popular hit. Join us for services and stay to enjoy the kiddush and the company.
This week’s Torah portion is Parashat Ki Teitzei (read on 22 August 2026).
Ki Teitzei (“When You Go Out”) contains numerous laws, more than appear in any other Torah portion. These include laws about the treatment of a captive woman, returning lost objects, forbidden mixtures, the erection of a rooftop fence, rape, collateral, and workers’ wages. [1]
Torah reading: Deuteronomy 21:10-25:19
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mail: Van Cortlandt Jewish Center, 3880 Sedgwick Avenue, Bronx, NY 10463
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Deadline to vote: 3:00 p.m. on Thursday, August 27, 2026.
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Save the date: Kristallnacht observance and lecture, Sunday Nov. 8
The Van Cortlandt Jewish Center will be holding its annual Kristallnacht Commemoration Program with speaker Larry Hartstein. More info to follow.
Thank you!
The Van Cortlandt Jewish Center wants to thank all the people who generously donated towards the purchase of our new siddurim and chumashim. We have begun using them and look forward to using them for many years to come.
10 minutes of learning a day
Free Online Video Classes on the Talmud: 10 Minutes a day brought to you by the Orthodox Union. Get a background lesson on the entire Talmud in 40 weeks. No Hebrew knowledge required. Click on the Link Below for more information
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The VCJC is working to build and grow for its next century in Van Cortlandt Village. If you have had a good experience with us or recognize our value to the community, please consider telling the world about it. Go to our Google Business Profile and leave a review. Thanks!
Please help with information about buildings
As part of rebuilding the membership and congregation, the Board of Trustees would like your help. There are a lot of either new or renovated buildings being put up in our catchment area. We would like to seek the cooperation of the owners / developers of those properties in publicizing these opportunities to live near an orthodox synagogue. If you are aware of any of these buildings, please provide what information you can about them. This could include the address, any contact information that might be posted, and any information about the building itself (size, type, etc.). Additionally, if you are aware of vacancies in existing buildings or of houses for sale, please let us know about that as well.
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The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released the following statement after an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) led to charges against a Chinese national for voter fraud.
On August 19, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts announced that Yupeng Sun, a Chinese national, had been charged with fraudulent voter registration and fraudulent voting. According to court filings, Sun submitted an online voter registration in Massachusetts on October 10, 2024, impersonating another Chinese national residing in the state who had legal permanent resident (LPR) status. Sun then submitted an early voting ballot at Malden City Hall for the 2024 presidential election on October 31, while still impersonating the victim.
After registering to vote and casting a ballot, Sun submitted several anonymous tips to HSI and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) accusing the victim he was impersonating of “illegally voting in the 2024 U.S. presidential election” and stating that his victim “is not a U.S. citizen but a permanent resident.” He is also accused of impersonating the victim and the victim’s wife in April 2024 when he submitted fraudulent forms to USCIS requesting to abandon their LPR status. This resulted in the victim and his wife, also a Chinese national, being placed into removal proceedings in June 2024 after returning from an international trip.
HSI New England arrested Sun on August 19. The charges of fraudulent registration and fraudulent voting each provide for a sentence of up to five years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000. The defendant is subject to deportation upon completion of any sentence imposed.
“This criminal illegal alien allegedly committed voter fraud so he could vote in the 2024 presidential election,” said DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin. “The charges in this case are the result of the hard work of the men and women of HSI and our federal partners. Election security is national security. Only American citizens should be electing American leaders.”
Jeff Grimming, Acting Special Agent in Charge of HSI New England, and U.S. Attorney Leah Foley made the announcement. Valuable assistance in the investigation was provided by the Lexington Police Department and the Andover Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney James J. Nagelberg of the Major Crimes Unit is prosecuting the case.
This is part of the Trump Administration’s broader focus on stopping non-citizens from voting in American elections. Recent examples include:
In recent months, DHS has taken additional steps to safeguard the integrity and security of American elections. These measures include:
This criminal illegal alien was RELEASED into the country by the Biden Administration
The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released the following statement after U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) lodged a detainer asking sanctuary politicians to not release a criminal illegal alien charged with murder after allegedly stabbing a woman to death in Fairfax County, Virginia.
According to local reporting, the incident took place on August 17 in a park in Great Falls, Virginia. That morning, a jogger found the body of 42-year-old Carmen Lizet Puch, who had been stabbed to death near her car and had gasoline poured on her body in an unsuccessful attempt to set her on fire. Two days later, on August 19, the Fairfax County Police Department announced the arrest of the suspect, Alexis Antonio Cedillos-Campos, a criminal illegal alien from El Salvador.
Alexis Antonio Cedillos-Campos
Cedillos-Campos now faces a charge of second-degree murder. ICE lodged a detainer with the Fairfax County Detention Center the same day Cedillos-Campos was arrested.
“This criminal illegal alien from El Salvador fatally stabbed 42-year-old Carmen Lizet Puch in a park in Virginia after he had been RELEASED into the country by the Biden Administration,” said DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin. “If it weren’t for Biden’s reckless America Last policies, this woman would still be alive and her killer wouldn’t be here. ICE is calling on Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger and Fairfax County sanctuary politicians to cooperate with ICE and commit to NOT releasing this killer from jail. Virginia sanctuary politicians must stop gambling with the lives of American citizens. Enough is enough.”
Cedillos-Campos illegally entered the United States through Texas in April 2024 and was arrested by U.S. Customs and Border Protection. He was then RELEASED into the country by the Biden Administration.
During her first days in office, Governor Spanberger signed executive orders banning state cooperation with ICE as well as terminating 287(g) state and local agreements.
Under Governor Spanberger, Virginia has become a hotbed of illegal alien crime. Some of the recent illegal alien crimes in the sanctuary state include:
Hundreds of individuals were apprehended and taken into custody throughout northern Ohio as part of a multi-agency strategic initiative to combat violent crime. The DEA Detroit Field Division was part of a multi-jurisdictional sweep across eight cities, known as Operation Northern Shield, was coordinated among federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies and task forces.
In May, June, and July, more than 600 people were arrested and nearly 200 firearms were seized along with varying amounts of fentanyl, crack cocaine, methamphetamine, cocaine, illicit drugs, and U.S. currency. Approximately 264 of these arrests came from surges into individual cities, and an additional 355 arrests were from other areas across the District.
Plans for Operation Northern Shield began in early 2026, with the goal to partner with local law enforcement agencies in a cohesive and integrated effort to target and apprehend violent fugitives in eight northern Ohio cities including Akron, Cleveland, Lorain, Youngstown, Elyria, Canton, Mansfield, and Toledo.
Fugitives were wanted for crimes of violence such as homicide, manslaughter, assault, robbery, and sex offenses. Other offenses involved human trafficking, firearms, and illegal drugs.
Overall, Operation Northern Shield yielded the following totals from May 17-July 18:
Among those arrested who are facing federal charges are:
Angela Aquino Attempted to Defraud the New York City Campaign Finance Board of $1 Million in Public Matching Funds
Angela Aquino, a 2025 candidate for New York City Public Advocate, pleaded guilty to wire fraud in connection with her scheme to defraud New York City’s campaign finance system to obtain public matching funds. The proceeding was held before United States Magistrate Judge Vera Scanlon. When sentenced, Aquino faces a sentence of up to 20 years in prison.
Joseph Nocella, Jr., United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York; Nadia I. Shihata, Commissioner, New York City Department of Investigation (DOI); and James C. Barnacle, Jr., Assistant Director in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI), announced the guilty plea.
“The defendant, a former candidate for city office, admitted that she attempted to defraud New York City of $1 million in public funds,” stated United States Attorney Nocella. “Her brazen efforts threaten the integrity of our local democratic processes.”
“New Yorkers deserve a baseline of integrity from candidates running for public office, an attribute this defendant – through her actions – demonstrated she clearly lacked,” stated DOI Commissioner Shihata. “As a candidate for NYC Public Advocate, this defendant attempted to fraudulently obtain $1 million in public matching funds by obscuring the true source of the funds flowing into her campaign committee’s bank account. The defendant also used some of her campaign funds to pay her personal expenses, including rent for her apartment. New York City’s Matching Funds Program is supported by taxpayer dollars, and those who seek these funds must follow the law. I thank the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York and the New York Office of the FBI for their partnership in protecting the integrity of our campaign finance system.”
“Angela Aquino's attempt to defraud the City of New York is disgraceful and unacceptable. Any theft of taxpayer money will be fully investigated and prosecuted. In support of the Vice President's Fraud Task Force, FBI New York will continue to work diligently to protect the public from fraud in all forms,” stated FBI Assistant Director in Charge Barnacle.
New York City’s Matching Funds Program
The New York City Campaign Finance Board (CFB) offers a voluntary public-financing program matching small-dollar contributions from New York City residents to candidates for city office. To be eligible for matching funds, candidates must meet a two-part fundraising threshold: first, they must collect a minimum number of contributions of $10 or more; and, second, they must raise a minimum amount of qualifying contributions from residents of New York City. To be eligible for the matching funds program, a candidate for Public Advocate must have raised at least $125,000 from at least 500 qualifying contributors. In addition, cash contributions are capped at $100 per contributor for purposes of qualifying for matching funds.
For a candidate to apply cash contributions toward the threshold necessary to become eligible for public matching funds, a candidate’s authorized committee was required to submit contribution cards to the CFB that listed, among other information, each contributor’s name, residential address, employer, and occupation, as well as the date and amount of contribution. The contribution cards also had to be signed by the contributors.
Candidates were prohibited from giving false information to the CFB. Candidates were also prohibited from using public matching funds for purposes that were illegal, improper, or not in furtherance of the candidate’s nomination or election. Violation of these prohibitions would render the candidate ineligible to receive public matching funds.
Once a candidate met the eligibility requirements to join the program, the CFB would provide the campaign with public funds at a matching rate of $8 to $1. In other words, if a candidate raised $125,000 toward the fundraising threshold, the CFB would provide that candidate with $1 million in public matching funds.
The Fraudulent Scheme
Aquino engaged in a scheme to obtain $1 million in public matching funds, knowing that her campaign committee was not entitled to such funds. In particular, she took numerous steps artificially to inflate the deposits into her campaign committee’s bank account to make it appear that the committee had met the $125,000 threshold for public funds. In fact, very little of the deposits were eligible contributions from New Yorkers.
In the first months of 2025, Aquino’s personal bank account received more than $130,000 that originated from the Philippines. Of this amount, at least $34,000 was a loan to Aquino from a contact there. Aquino, with others, repeatedly withdrew funds from her personal bank account in cash and deposited cash into her campaign committee’s bank account. These contributions were then identified to the CFB as contributions from residents of New York City that were eligible for public matching funds. Contribution cards submitted in support of these supposed contributions, which purported to identify the contributors and included their personal identifying information and their signatures, were falsified.
Aquino cycled funds out of, and back into, the campaign committee’s bank account, sometimes using bank accounts of friends and associates as intermediary accounts to obscure the true source of the funds. The purpose of cycling the funds in this way was to make the total amount of deposits into the campaign committee’s account appear higher, such that the total contributions would appear to meet the CFB’s threshold.
Aquino used funds from the campaign committee account to pay for her personal expenses, including the rent for her apartment, while falsely reporting to the CFB that the payments were for legitimate campaign expenses. Aquino also lied to federal agents concerning her relationship with the recipients of some of these expenditures. For example, Aquino told federal agents that her landlords helped with petitions and with campaigning, justifying the campaign’s payments to them. In fact, Aquino’s landlords had nothing to do with her campaign.
The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s Public Integrity Section.
