Rabbi Gets 60-Day Jail Sentence In Money-Laundering Case

TRENTON, NJ – The founder and director of the School for Children with Hidden Intelligence, a school for students with special needs in Lakewood, was sentenced to 60 days in jail and two years of probation for his convictions in a money-laundering scheme involving school funds, state Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal said.

Grewal also said his office is looking at the possibility of appealing the sentence.

Rabbi Osher Eisemann, 62, was sentenced Monday by Superior Court Judge Benjamin S. Bucca Jr. in Middlesex County, where he was convicted at trial Feb. 27 of second-degree money laundering and misconduct by a corporate official.

Second-degree charges carry a presumptive sentence of five to 10 years in prison, and by law, the money laundering charge cannot merge with the other charge and carries a consecutive sentence. The state sought a sentence of 12 years, six years on each count.

The judge, however, imposed a sentence of probation over the state’s objection, finding Eisemann had overcome the presumption of imprisonment attached to his second-degree convictions, Grewal's office said.

Bucca also ordered Eisemann to pay an anti-money laundering profiteering penalty of $250,000. On July 1, Bucca will set the date that Eisemann must report to serve his jail term.

Eisemann was acquitted at trial of additional charges, including a charge of first-degree corruption of public resources. The school’s fundraising foundation, Services for Hidden Intelligence, LLC, was acquitted of all charges. Bucca denied a motion filed by the defense that sought to have him set aside the jury verdict and enter a judgment of acquittal or order a new trial.

Deputy Attorneys General Anthony J. Robinson and John Nicodemo tried the case and handled the sentencing for the Office of Public Integrity and Accountability. They were assisted at trial by Analyst Nathalie Kurzawa. Eisemann was indicted in an investigation by the OPIA, assisted by the Division of Criminal Justice Financial & Computer Crimes Bureau. The investigation began with a referral from the New Jersey Department of Education regarding SCHI’s financial practices.

In connection with the money laundering charge, the state presented testimony and evidence that Eisemann misappropriated $200,000 in school funds that he used in a scheme designed to make it appear that he used personal funds to repay debts he owed to SCHI. The state also presented testimony and evidence at trial that between 2011 and 2015, Eisemann used the fundraising foundation to misappropriate $779,000 in operating funds from SCHI, specifically, public tuition monies entrusted to the school to educate special needs children. The state argued that he used those funds for various personal purposes unrelated to SCHI. Eisemann was found guilty of the second charge, misconduct by a corporate official, because he used a corporation, Services for Hidden Intelligence, LLC, to facilitate criminal activity. That count incorporated all of the allegations in the indictment.

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