Fraudulent Collector (Part 2)

Dear all,

I have been reliably informed that this gentleman

Alexander Shtayn (elohist)

About whom I previously posted, is in Melbourne and davened at the 7am Minyan at Ohel Dvorah.

Attached is another letter regarding him.

He has not recanted

One of the Mispallelim, wrote to me as follows:

I questioned him quite strongly, he was being very evasive, took me ages to get his last name out of him, and that he was from Milwaukee.
He told us a convoluted story about a kollel for children and elderly in S. Petersburg and in US. Overall he appeared to be a very strange guy.

Make up your own mind. Indications are that

  1. He is a Kofer B’Ikar
  2. A fraud

As we no longer have the once excellent Chesed service, can I suggest that readers pass this blog post around?

Author: pitputim

I've enjoyed being a computer science professor in Melbourne, Australia, as well as band leader/singer for the Schnapps Band over many years. My high schooling was in Chabad and I continued at Yeshivat Kerem B'Yavneh in Israel and later in life at Machon L'Hora'ah, Yeshivas Halichos Olam.

15 thoughts on “Fraudulent Collector (Part 2)”

        1. I’ve removed recent. Having two serious letters published against him and continuing to be evasive on the issue this morning the onus is on Alexander to now demonstrate that he is not a fraud and has disavowed his professed elohist philosophy.

          Then again, if you or anyone else are untroubled by the evidence or have evidence that he has recanted, you are free to have him for dinner or supply me with contrary evidence. In the meanwhile, I considered it important to advise of his context.

          PS. I haven’t seen Rabbi Shmotkin or the Crown Heights Beis Din issue a letter of support on account of him doing Tshuva. Have you?

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  2. The fellow is a complete fraud.
    Everywhere he and his few friends go they spin another falsehood
    Further he is without question mentally unbalanced, psychotic.
    He should be ignored.
    The sooner he leaves your city the better.
    My HaShem save Lubavitch from such as disaster.

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  4. Apparently he was collecting in Cleveland last month. Incidentally, there are some other people going around repeatedly with laminated teudot, who say they’re from Israel but who almost certainly live in Australia. I have heard that some non-Jews have figured out that it doesn’t take much to get money from a Jewish home.

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    1. Well we are רחמנים and גומלי חסדים and I have always felt that it’s an opportunity for קידוש השם if גויים come to my door. However, I won’t give to World Vision and the like, as they missionarise. I also won’t give to the Red Cross until they change their attitude to Magen David Adom. I haven’t checked what the situation is currently with them, but I recall there has been lots of tension in the past.

      Someone should get this charlatan’s picture put up in every Shule. If he comes to my house, I’ll tell him that if he doesn’t get on a plane and get out of the country, I’ll report him for fraud.

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      1. What about a charity for the blind, deaf, homeless etc., I always wonder if it is muttar to donate, if they are a part of a church

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        1. I’m not saying world vision is אסור for example. I worked once with two people who were involved and it left me with a sour taste.

          Ask your Rav and let us know. I wouldn’t think there was a problem

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  5. What fraud? It would be hard to prove. But he’s probably here on a tourist visa, and breaching his entry conditions. I presume that there’s no issue of mesira in the case of a chote u’machte et harabim, but what do I know.

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