Three hareidi-religious organizations are suspected of manufacturing forged ID cards and receiving funding for non-existent students. The police raided their offices on Sunday, made six arrests, and carted off boxes of documents and over 1,000 forged ID cards.
The associations are suspected of cheating the government, via the Ministry of Education, of tens of millions of shekels over the past few years. Among those arrested were a father and two sons, and more arrests are expected.
The yeshivot reported each month on the presence of hundreds of students, when in fact only dozens studied there. The police are investigating where the money received for the non-existent students went.
In at least one location, equipment and special paper for the manufacture of forged ID cards was found.
Video footage, courtesy of Hadrei Hareidim: Police forces arrive at one of the yeshivot in Jerusalem: