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| Rabbi Menashe Bleecker |
A man was arrested and charged with fraud related charges after he was caught selling fake kosher certificates to food establishments, according to court proceedings in Israel. Now, the man was convicted and received one year in jail for his crimes.
The Rechovot judge, Levana Tzavar, convicted Rabbi Menashe Bleecker for kashrut fraud, after issuing four kosher certificates to businesses in Rechovot, who chose not to get kosher certification from the Chief Rabbinate. The judge sentenced him to 12 months in jail, according to the court proceedings.
The documents issued by Bleecker stated that the products sold are kosher. Bleecker issued the false certificates every three months.
The judge ruled that Bleecker deceived the public by leading them to believe that he was authorized to issue kosher certificates.
The judge ruled that the evidence against Bleecker was clear since prosecutors presented the court with the kosher certificates signed by the defendant.
This was not the first time Bleecker issued false kosher certificates to businesses. Bleecker was already convicted and sentenced for offenses of counterfeiting kosher certificates that mislead the public to three business owners.
During the sentencing hearing, the judge said: "The fact that the defendant continued to commit the same crime despite being jailed before, I had no choice but to impose a severe punishment.”
Bleecker was also sentenced to three years probation.