New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced a consumer alert after an entity calling itself the “Jewish Holocaust Claims Center” solicited Holocaust survivors and their families to submit claims for compensation, prompting state officials to warn of a potential scam.
The New York State Department of Financial Services stated that it could not verify the group’s identity, services or legitimacy and referred the matter to law enforcement. The department also reported the group’s website to its hosting provider, which subsequently removed it.
The department also said it referred the matter to the inspectors general of New York, New Jersey and the U.S. Postal Service.
“Scamming and stealing from Holocaust survivors and their families is the lowest of the lows,” Hochul said, pledging to ensure survivors receive the assistance and assets to which they are entitled.
Kaitlin Asrow, acting superintendent of the department, urged survivors and their families to independently verify unsolicited offers before providing personal or financial information.
The department’s Holocaust Claims Processing Office, established in 1997, assists Holocaust victims and their heirs in recovering assets, including bank accounts, insurance proceeds and cultural property. The office does not charge claimants for its services and has helped return more than $184 million in assets to victims’ families and recover 356 cultural objects.
