UPDATED::Lakewood rabbi facing charges steps down from SCHI school leadership

UPDATE:: Rabbi found guilty of money laundering won’t go to prison thanks to a ‘selfless life,’ judge says 

A New Jersey rabbi found guilty of laundering $200,000 from a private school for children with developmental disabilities was sentenced Monday afternoon to two years probation.

Osher Eisemann, 62, founded the Lakewood-based School for Children with Hidden Intelligence during the 1990s, inspired by his own son’s special needs. He was found guilty in February of second degree charges of money laundering and misconduct by a corporate official at the close of a four-week trial.

The second degree charges can carry sentences of five to 10 years in state prison, but Judge Benjamin Bucca found the mitigating factors outweighed the aggravating factors in the sentencing, moving him to hand down the rare sentence of probation, which skirted mandatory minimums.

UPDATE::  Lakewood SCHI founder stole nearly $1 million, faces stiffer charge, AG says

The head of a controversial special education school here, already facing allegations of money laundering, has been charged with an additional, more severe corruption count, state officials said Friday.

The New Jersey attorney general says further investigation discovered Rabbi Osher Eisemann, the founder of the School for Children with Hidden Intelligence, wired $450,000 in public tuition funds from the school to "an entity in New York state owned by an associate." That money was then used by the "associate" to pay off past-due New Jersey taxes, according to the attorney general.

In a new indictment filed Friday, Eisemann is charged with first-degree corruption of public resources, a crime that could carry a prison sentence of 10 to 20 years prison if he is convicted. The school's fundraising foundation, Services for Hidden Intelligence, is also charged with the corruption count. 

A rabbi charged with stealing $630,000 in public tuition funds through the special-needs school he leads is taking a voluntary leave of absence, his attorney said Tuesday.

Rabbi Osher Eisemann, 60, is founder and director of the School for Children with Hidden Intelligence. Eisemann was charged in a four-count state indictment earlier this year. He has pleaded not guilty.

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The charges against Eisemann include theft by unlawful taking, misapplication of government property, misconduct by a corporate official, and money laundering — all second-degree offenses that carry up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $150,000, state Attorney General Christopher Porrino has said.

Lakewood rabbi facing charges steps down from SCHI school leadership