Difference between revisions of "Federation of Jewish Communities of the CIS"
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| name = Federation of Jewish Communities of the CIS, Inc. | | name = Federation of Jewish Communities of the CIS, Inc. | ||
| type = Public charity (files Form 990) | | type = Public charity (files Form 990) | ||
| − | | founded = 1998 (federation); US corporation IRS ruling November 1998 | + | | founded = {{Start date|1998|11}} (federation, own account); US corporation IRS ruling November 1998 |
| location = 445 Park Avenue, 9th Floor, New York, NY 10022 (IRS address) | | location = 445 Park Avenue, 9th Floor, New York, NY 10022 (IRS address) | ||
| registration_id = EIN 13-3970940 | | registration_id = EIN 13-3970940 | ||
Latest revision as of 13:32, 22 October 2026
US fundraising corporation of the Federation of Jewish Communities of the CIS
| Federation of Jewish Communities of the CIS, Inc.
| |
|---|---|
| Type | Public charity (files Form 990) |
| Founded | November 1998 (federation, own account); US corporation IRS ruling November 1998 |
| Registration ID | EIN 13-3970940 |
| Location | 445 Park Avenue, 9th Floor, New York, NY 10022 (IRS address) |
| Services | Support for Jewish communities in the former Soviet Union |
| Key people | Berel Lazar (director); David Mondshine (executive director and treasurer) |
| Website | fjc-fsu.org |
The Federation of Jewish Communities of the CIS (FJC) is an umbrella body for Chabad-Lubavitch-led Jewish communities in the former Soviet Union. This page deals mainly with its New York corporation, Federation of Jewish Communities of the CIS, Inc., which raises money in the United States. Together the Korf Family Foundation and the Laber Foundation reported grants of $2,808,046 to the FJC between 2006 and 2011. In 2020 the FJC's US office first said it had "never received" the money.[1]
History
The FJC's own history (Chabad-side) says: "In November 1998… created the Federation of Jewish Communities". Its national federations include the Federation of Jewish Communities of Russia and the Federation of Jewish Communities of Ukraine.[2] Berel Lazar, Chief Rabbi of Russia, is listed as a director of the US corporation in every e-filed year from 2010 to 2025.[3]
US corporation
The IRS Business Master File lists the corporation at 445 Park Avenue, 9th Floor, New York, as a public charity with a ruling date of November 1998.[4] Its returns for the years to July 2009 are handwritten and were read from scans; returns from 2010 are e-filed.[3]
Property in Queens
New York City records show that the corporation acquired 60-05 Woodhaven Boulevard, Queens, by a deed of January 2003.[5] Mortgages and agreements followed: Doral Money ($583,271.50, 2003),[6] Investors Bank ($3,000,000, December 2013),[7] and Investors Bank ($2,623,102, 2019),[8] with satisfactions recorded in 2021.[9] By a deed dated 20 October 2023 the FJC conveyed the property to the Ohr Avner Foundation Inc.[10]
Grants paid
Its recent returns report grants on Schedule I totalling $42,300,071 over the three tax years ending July 2023, 2024 and 2025. Much the largest recipient was the Jewish Relief Network Ukraine, based in Tempe, Arizona.[3]
| Recipient as filed | Years | Total |
|---|---|---|
| Jewish Relief Network Ukraine | Jul 2023–Jul 2025 | $28,516,000 |
| White Forest Jewish Community Center | Jul 2025 | $8,120,867 |
| Jewish Institute Of Queens | Jul 2023–Jul 2025 | $3,447,394 |
| Jewish Community Center Of Moscow | Jul 2023–Jul 2024 | $738,762 |
| Congregation Ohel Chabad Lubavitch | Jul 2024–Jul 2025 | $216,014 |
| North County Chabad Center | Jul 2023–Jul 2025 | $162,028 |
| Yttl Lubavitcher Yeshiva | Jul 2024–Jul 2025 | $123,742 |
| Merkos Linyonei Chinuch Inc | Jul 2024 | $102,360 |
| Colel Chabad | Jul 2024–Jul 2025 | $90,770 |
| Ohr Avner Foundation Inc | Jul 2023–Jul 2024 | $85,000 |
The "never received" statement
The Forward (critical) reported in February 2020 that the foundations' filings "show $2.8 million in donations over 12 years" to the FJC. It said the FJC's US office director, Mindy Zalmanov, first told the paper that the group "never received" that money, then wrote three days later that the group does not comment on donations or expenditures. Marc Kasowitz, the lawyer for Mordechai Korf and Uriel Laber, replied that "the storyline you are trying to manufacture" was "false and defamatory".[1] The grants tabled below come from the foundations' own returns. The FJC's returns do not name its donors publicly (Schedule B names are restricted for public charities), so the receipt side cannot be checked from public records.
Funding from the Korf and Laber foundations
Status: allegation. In 2020 the US Department of Justice filed civil forfeiture complaints alleging that Ihor Kolomoisky and Gennadiy Bogolyubov defrauded PrivatBank in Ukraine, and that their associates Mordechai Korf and Uriel Laber "created a web of entities, usually under some variation of the name 'Optima,' to further launder the misappropriated funds".[11] Korf and Laber are claimants in those cases, not defendants. They deny any wrongdoing, and no criminal charge against either man has been found. The Forward reported in 2020 that "there is no evidence that any of the recipients were aware of the two men's connection to the laundering".[1] This page has found no authority that accuses the Federation of Jewish Communities of the CIS of wrongdoing, and no source that traces any of the alleged proceeds to it. The grants below are lawful grants as the Korf Family Foundation and the Laber Foundation reported them to the Internal Revenue Service. They are not evidence of tracing. The full account is on Chabad and Ukraine.
Every grant to the Federation of Jewish Communities of the CIS listed on the 990-PF returns of the two foundations is set out below, year by year. Tax years end on 30 November. The figures for the tax year ending November 2006 are those on the amended returns, which the foundation pages cite; the original returns gave slightly different amounts.[12][13] The total, $2,808,046, agrees with the "$2.8 million" reported by the Forward.[1] The New York Post figure of "nearly $1 million" does not agree with the returns.[14] The table leaves out the Laber Foundation's grants of $638,000 (2010–2012) to a payee filed as "Commonwealth of Independent States" with a Boston address, which has not been identified.[15][16]
| Tax year ending | Korf Family Foundation | Laber Foundation | Year total | Payee name(s) and place as filed | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 2006 | $590,000 | $698,000 | $1,288,000 | Federation of Jewish Communiti[es] (New York, NY) | [17][18] |
| Nov 2007 | $241,106 | $140,115 | $381,221 | Federation of Jewish Comm Cis (New York, NY); Federation of Jewish Com Cis (New York, NY) | [19][20] |
| Nov 2008 | $275,394 | $110,136 | $385,530 | Federation of Jewish Comm CI (Newyork, NY); Federation of Jewish Com Cis (New York, NY) | [21][22] |
| Nov 2009 | $176,718 | — | $176,718 | Federation of Jewish Comm CIS (place not given) | [23] |
| Nov 2010 | $273,347 | — | $273,347 | Federation of Jewish Comm CIS (New York, NY) | [24] |
| Nov 2011 | $303,230 | — | $303,230 | Federation of Jewish Comm CIS (New York, NY) | [25] |
| Total | $1,859,795 | $948,251 | $2,808,046 |
Revenue and expenses as filed
Basis column: e-file = IRS e-file XML; summary = ProPublica's summary of IRS Statistics of Income data (the return itself not held); scan = figures read by eye from the return's page images on ProPublica (not yet second-checked). Schedule B: a public charity must attach its list of large donors, but the names are not open to public inspection; a private foundation's are.
| Year ending | Form | Contributions | Programme service revenue | Total revenue | Grants paid | Total expenses | Net assets at year end | Schedule B | Basis |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 2001 | 990 | $12,588,251 | — | $12,603,090 | — | $13,437,784 | $926,544 | — | scan |
| Jul 2002 | 990 | $19,637,087 | — | $19,652,967 | — | $18,733,919 | $1,833,792 | — | scan |
| Jul 2003 | 990 | $34,453,709 | — | $34,956,404 | — | $29,489,517 | $7,798,167 | — | scan |
| Jul 2004 | 990 | $35,847,786 | — | $36,448,384 | — | $35,035,944 | $9,219,403 | — | scan |
| Jul 2005 | 990 | $39,807,186 | — | $40,456,194 | — | $38,787,694 | $11,034,147 | — | scan |
| Jul 2006 | 990 | $49,814,863 | — | $50,691,988 | — | $47,528,294 | $14,173,282 | — | scan |
| Jul 2007 | 990 | $63,996,015 | — | $65,768,833 | — | $57,005,664 | $20,279,487 | — | scan |
| Jul 2008 | 990 | $55,291,282 | — | $56,452,545 | — | $60,401,464 | $13,764,698 | — | scan |
| Jul 2009 | 990 | $27,429,277 | — | $27,688,224 | — | $31,098,654 | $9,923,417 | — | scan |
| Jul 2010 | 990 | $23,043,418 | $0 | $20,271,349 | $25,556,165 | $26,450,058 | $8,112,340 | attached (names not public) | e-file |
| Jul 2011 | 990 | $19,362,250 | $0 | $19,823,252 | $21,561,904 | $22,733,332 | $5,742,610 | attached (names not public) | e-file |
| Jul 2012 | 990 | $19,736,458 | $0 | $20,435,007 | $19,793,739 | $20,906,173 | $5,264,414 | attached (names not public) | e-file |
| Jul 2013 | 990 | $32,984,658 | $0 | $33,871,857 | $19,798,982 | $20,778,659 | $17,546,874 | attached (names not public) | e-file |
| Jul 2014 | 990 | $33,883,328 | $0 | $34,357,003 | $24,284,441 | $25,486,859 | $26,448,144 | attached (names not public) | e-file |
| Jul 2015 | 990 | $27,347,825 | $0 | $28,004,954 | $27,029,653 | $28,178,950 | $26,633,804 | attached (names not public) | e-file |
| Jul 2016 | 990 | $25,647,509 | $0 | $26,280,285 | $29,651,010 | $30,699,699 | $22,328,013 | attached (names not public) | e-file |
| Jul 2017 | 990 | $28,137,927 | $0 | $28,872,074 | $32,335,380 | $33,430,103 | $18,800,564 | attached (names not public) | e-file |
| Jul 2018 | 990 | $36,691,223 | $0 | $37,377,849 | $37,385,760 | $38,468,768 | $18,466,405 | attached (names not public) | e-file |
| Jul 2019 | 990 | $39,006,324 | $0 | $39,688,864 | $33,283,538 | $34,457,205 | $23,669,938 | attached (names not public) | e-file |
| Jul 2020 | 990 | $47,354,404 | $0 | $48,830,502 | $34,396,097 | $35,724,874 | $37,216,547 | attached (names not public) | e-file |
| Jul 2021 | 990 | $38,522,948 | $0 | $39,631,208 | $34,005,671 | $35,132,238 | $44,905,556 | attached (names not public) | e-file |
| Jul 2022 | 990 | $74,866,314 | $0 | $77,345,811 | $52,684,254 | $53,967,781 | $65,945,175 | attached (names not public) | e-file |
| Jul 2023 | 990 | $59,086,946 | $0 | $61,739,464 | $56,637,261 | $61,530,166 | $67,179,033 | attached (names not public) | e-file |
| Jul 2024 | 990 | $48,836,032 | $0 | $50,808,389 | $54,810,639 | $58,133,700 | $62,716,061 | attached (names not public) | e-file |
| Jul 2025 | 990 | $51,722,973 | $0 | $54,900,512 | $52,300,024 | $54,491,663 | $65,445,731 | attached (names not public) | e-file |
Officers and directors
Names and titles as filed in Part VII of the e-filed returns (spellings as filed; one person may appear under more than one spelling).
| Name as filed | Title as filed | First e-filed year listed | Last e-filed year listed | Highest reported compensation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Berel Lazar | Director | 2010 | 2025 | $0 |
| David Mondshine | Director | 2010 | 2022 | $0 |
| Shlomo Peles | Director | 2010 | 2022 | $0 |
| David Mondshine | Executive Director & Treasurer | 2023 | 2025 | $0 |
| Shlomo Peles | Secretary | 2023 | 2025 | $0 |
| Yosef Brickman | Director | 2024 | 2025 | $0 |
See also
- Federation of Jewish Communities of Russia
- Federation of Jewish Communities of Ukraine
- Berel Lazar
- Korf Family Foundation
- Laber Foundation
- Chabad and Ukraine
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Molly Boigon, "Two Florida Chabad donors implicated in Optima schemes", The Forward, 21 February 2020 (with later corrections). Critical.
- ↑ Federation of Jewish Communities of the CIS, "History", fjc-fsu.org, read 20 October 2026 (site unavailable on re-check later that day). Chabad-side.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Federation of Jewish Communities of the CIS Inc (EIN 13-3970940), Form 990 series returns e-filed with the IRS for the years ending July 2001 to July 2025 (scanned handwritten returns to 2009, e-filed from 2010), XML as published in the IRS e-file data and mirrored by the GivingTuesday 990 data lake; also viewable as full filings on ProPublica. Figures as filed. Primary source (filed by the organisation).
- ↑ Internal Revenue Service, Exempt Organizations Business Master File extract for New York (eo_ny.csv), irs.gov, downloaded 20 October 2026, row for EIN 13-3970940 (subsection 03; foundation code 15 (public charity)). Primary source (IRS).
- ↑ New York City Department of Finance, ACRIS, document 2003010800515001 (deed, 60-05 Woodhaven Boulevard, Queens, Woodhaven Realty Associates LLC to Federation of Jewish Communities of the C.I.S. Inc., dated 3 January 2003), document, via the NYC Open Data ACRIS datasets, retrieved 20 October 2026. Primary source (city record).
- ↑ New York City Department of Finance, ACRIS, document 2003031800631001 (mortgage, 60-05 Woodhaven Boulevard, Doral Money, Inc., $583,271.50, dated 8 January 2003), document, via the NYC Open Data ACRIS datasets, retrieved 20 October 2026. Primary source (city record).
- ↑ New York City Department of Finance, ACRIS, document 2013122301051002 (agreement, 60-05 Woodhaven Boulevard, Investors Bank, $3,000,000, dated 17 December 2013), document, via the NYC Open Data ACRIS datasets, retrieved 20 October 2026. Primary source (city record).
- ↑ New York City Department of Finance, ACRIS, document 2019042900587001 (agreement, 60-05 Woodhaven Boulevard, Investors Bank, $2,623,102, dated 1 March 2019), document, via the NYC Open Data ACRIS datasets, retrieved 20 October 2026. Primary source (city record).
- ↑ New York City Department of Finance, ACRIS, document 2021020801277001 (satisfaction of mortgage, 60-05 Woodhaven Boulevard, Investors Bank, dated 4 December 2020, recorded 12 March 2021), document, via the NYC Open Data ACRIS datasets, retrieved 20 October 2026. Primary source (city record).
- ↑ New York City Department of Finance, ACRIS, document 2023103100363001 (deed, 60-05 Woodhaven Boulevard, Federation of Jewish Communities of the C.I.S. Inc. to Ohr Avner Foundation Inc., dated 20 October 2023), document, via the NYC Open Data ACRIS datasets, retrieved 20 October 2026. Primary source (city record).
- ↑ "Justice Department Seeks Forfeiture of Two Commercial Properties Purchased with Funds Misappropriated from PrivatBank in Ukraine", US Department of Justice, 6 August 2020. Primary source (allegations).
- ↑ The Korf Family Foundation Inc (EIN 20-3942766), original Form 990-PF for the tax year ending 30 November 2006 (2005 form), received by the IRS in October 2007 and later superseded by the amended return, PDF via ProPublica. Read from the page images. Primary source (filed by the foundation).
- ↑ The Laber Foundation Inc (EIN 20-3925774), original Form 990-PF for the tax year ending 30 November 2006 (2005 form), received by the IRS in October 2007 and later superseded by the amended return, PDF via ProPublica. Read from the page images. Primary source (filed by the foundation).
- ↑ Isabel Vincent and Kathianne Boniello, "Businessmen accused of Ukraine money laundering gave millions to New York charities", New York Post, 6 March 2021. Critical.
- ↑ The Laber Foundation Inc (EIN 20-3925774), Form 990-PF for the tax year ending 30 November 2010 (2009 form), e-filed 2011-03-17, IRS e-file object ID 201130769349100003, PDF via ProPublica, XML from the IRS e-file data mirrored by the GivingTuesday 990 data lake. Primary source (filed by the foundation).
- ↑ The Laber Foundation Inc (EIN 20-3925774), Form 990-PF for the tax year ending 30 November 2012 (2011 form), e-filed 2013-04-23, IRS e-file object ID 201321139349100017, PDF via ProPublica, XML from the IRS e-file data mirrored by the GivingTuesday 990 data lake. Primary source (filed by the foundation).
- ↑ The Korf Family Foundation Inc (EIN 20-3942766), Form 990-PF for the tax year ending 30 November 2006 (2005 form), paper or printed return as scanned for the IRS public-inspection set, PDF via ProPublica. Read from the page images. Primary source (filed by the foundation).
- ↑ The Laber Foundation Inc (EIN 20-3925774), Form 990-PF for the tax year ending 30 November 2006 (2005 form), paper or printed return as scanned for the IRS public-inspection set, PDF via ProPublica. Read from the page images. Primary source (filed by the foundation).
- ↑ The Korf Family Foundation Inc (EIN 20-3942766), Form 990-PF for the tax year ending 30 November 2007 (2006 form), paper or printed return as scanned for the IRS public-inspection set, PDF via ProPublica. Read from the page images. Primary source (filed by the foundation).
- ↑ The Laber Foundation Inc (EIN 20-3925774), Form 990-PF for the tax year ending 30 November 2007 (2006 form), paper or printed return as scanned for the IRS public-inspection set, PDF via ProPublica. Read from the page images. Primary source (filed by the foundation).
- ↑ The Korf Family Foundation Inc (EIN 20-3942766), Form 990-PF for the tax year ending 30 November 2008 (2007 form), paper or printed return as scanned for the IRS public-inspection set, PDF via ProPublica. Read from the page images. Primary source (filed by the foundation).
- ↑ The Laber Foundation Inc (EIN 20-3925774), Form 990-PF for the tax year ending 30 November 2008 (2007 form), paper or printed return as scanned for the IRS public-inspection set, PDF via ProPublica. Read from the page images. Primary source (filed by the foundation).
- ↑ The Korf Family Foundation Inc (EIN 20-3942766), Form 990-PF for the tax year ending 30 November 2009 (2008 form), paper or printed return as scanned for the IRS public-inspection set, PDF via ProPublica. Read from the page images. Primary source (filed by the foundation).
- ↑ The Korf Family Foundation Inc (EIN 20-3942766), Form 990-PF for the tax year ending 30 November 2010 (2009 form), e-filed 2011-07-15, IRS e-file object ID 201111969349100601, PDF via ProPublica, XML from the IRS e-file data mirrored by the GivingTuesday 990 data lake. Primary source (filed by the foundation).
- ↑ The Korf Family Foundation Inc (EIN 20-3942766), Form 990-PF for the tax year ending 30 November 2011 (2010 form), e-filed 2012-09-05, IRS e-file object ID 201212499349100511, PDF via ProPublica, XML from the IRS e-file data mirrored by the GivingTuesday 990 data lake. Primary source (filed by the foundation).