East Amherst Man Charged with Embezzlement from Charity

BUFFALO, NY—U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and IRS Criminal Investigative Division have arrested Marc Korn, 54, of East Amherst, on a federal criminal complaint alleging a violation of the wire fraud statute. The charge carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, a fine of $250,000, or both.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Gretchen L. Wylegala, who is handling the case, stated that the complaint charges the defendant with devising a scheme to obtain funds from a charitable organization Korn headed, the American Friends of Assaf Harofeh Medical Center, an organization which raised funds to support a Medical Center in Israel. The complaint alleges that Korn, who runs two area nursing homes, became the chairman of the organization in 2005, and thereafter used charitable funds to pay for lavish personal expenses. The complaint further alleges that $190,000 was improperly taken from the charity by Korn during the period March 2006 to July 2007.

The criminal complaint is the culmination of an investigation by special agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Richard W. Kollmar, and special agents of the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigative Division, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Charles Pine. Korn appeared before a Magistrate Judge this afternoon and is due back in court on June 2, 2011 at 3:00 p.m.

The fact that a defendant has been charged with a crime is merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.