TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — An Israeli citizen who lived in Brooklyn and was arrested in New Jersey's largest corruption and money laundering sting three years ago has been sentenced to prison.

 

A federal judge in Trenton sentenced Levi Deutsch to 18 months and ordered him to forfeit $25,000.
 

Deutsch pleaded guilty last year to one count of money laundering conspiracy.
 

Prosecutors say the Brooklyn resident was part of a scheme to illegally launder money through religious charities. They say he and others took $200,000 in checks from government informant Solomon Dwek and returned about 90 percent of it in cash after taking a percentage as a fee.
 

Dwek allegedly told Deutsch that the money came from the sale of counterfeit handbags.
 

About two-thirds of the 46 people arrested in the sting have pleaded guilty or been convicted. Many of them are from the Syrian Jewish communities in New Jersey and Brooklyn.