Sholam Weiss
| Sholam Weiss | |
|---|---|
Picture from FBI wanted poster
|
|
| Born |
April 1, 1954 Brooklyn, New York, United States |
| Residence | Vienna, Austria |
| Nationality | American |
| Employer | National Heritage Life Insurance |
| Known for | Insurance fraud |
| Criminal charge | 78 counts of racketeering, wire fraud and money laundering |
| Criminal penalty | 845 years imprisonment, $123.4 million fine, $125 million restitution |
| Criminal status | Housed at Federal Correctional Institution, Otisville; Otisville, New York scheduled date of release: November 23, 2754 |
Sholam Weiss (also spelled Shalom Weiss; born April 1, 1954) is an American former businessman and convicted felon. In 2000, he was convicted of multiple fraud and money laundering counts and sentenced to 845 years in prison for looting the National Heritage Life Insurance Company of over $450 million. It was believed to be the largest insurance failure in history at the time. Weiss fled the country at the end of his trial and was a fugitive for one year. He was subsequently extradited from Austria.
The sentence imposed on Weiss is believed to be the longest known to have ever been imposed for a white-collar crime. It is also believed to be the longest criminal sentence ever imposed at the federal level in American history. Weiss was convicted of 78 counts including racketeering, wire fraud, and money laundering and ordered to pay $125 million in restitution and $123 million in penalties. About a dozen individuals were convicted for involvement in the collapse; another defendant, Keith Pound, received a 750-year sentence, and $139 million in restitution. Pound died in prison in 2004 at age 51. Federal cooperators Michael Blutrich and Lyle Pfeffer received reduced sentences of 200 months and served their terms in the Federal Witness Security Program.
Weiss was captured in Austria and extradited pursuant to an international arrest warrant. He was not permitted to appeal his extradition or conviction in accordance with the longstanding precedent that fugitives have flouted the court's authority and thus forfeit their right to appeal.
Weiss grew up in Borough Park, Brooklyn, where his father ran a fruit stand. He was educated in a yeshiva, where he spoke Yiddish, and received the equivalent of a high school education. He was born and raised Jewish. He did not learn English until he was in his late teens. He began doing construction work as a young man and established a plumbing supply company.
The plumbing supply firm failed and declared bankruptcy. Weiss began hiring himself out as a bankruptcy specialist, advising other businesses. Through that business he met Michael D. Blutrich, who owned the topless club Scores, which then was controlled by the Gambino Crime Family.
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Wikipedia