President Donald Trump granted pardons to 143 people just before leaving the White House.
One of those who received a pardon was the one who was once called the "ultra-Orthodox Madoff," businessman Eli Weinstein of Lakewood, who was sentenced to 24 years in prison for fraud.
The release statement said that President Trump commuted Eliyahu Weinstein's sentence after support from a long line of figures and lawyers. Some of Weinstein's victims also asked the president to pardon him.
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""Mr. Weinstein is a father of seven children and a loving husband. He is currently serving his eighth year of a 24-year sentence for real estate investment fraud and has maintained an exemplary prison record. Upon his release, he will have strong support from his community and those of his faith," the statement said.
Eli Weinstein, who despite his young age was once considered one of the most well-known men in the Haredi world, was arrested in 2010 and charged with a Ponzi scheme in the real estate sector, amounting to $200 million. Most of his victims were innocent Haredi Jews.
He lived in the Har Nof neighborhood in Jerusalem and later moved to Lakewood.
According to the indictment filed against him, Weinstein, then 37, forged documents and presented false advertisements to entice investors - mainly ultra-Orthodox - to purchase real estate properties from him that he did not even own. In some cases, he sold the same property to dozens of different people, who lost all their money.
In its ruling, the court determined that Weinstein initiated the fraud scheme and ran it for many years, knowing that there was no chance of him returning his victims' money.
During those years, Weinstein donated huge sums to Torah institutions and charitable and benevolent organizations, which increased his publicity and credibility in the eyes of the public.
As mentioned, today Weinstein was released after Trump commuted his sentence following lobbying from many figures, including letters from rabbis calling on the president to pardon him.
