Prosecutor: Treasurer of Red Bank Non-Profit, Former Councilman, Charged with Stealing from Organization

A former Red Bank councilman and treasurer of the nonprofit Red Bank Education Foundation has been arrested and charged with pilfering thousands of dollars from the organization over the course of two years, Acting Monmouth County Prosecutor Lori Linskey announced on Monday.

Hazim Yassin, 32, of the Lincroft section of Middletown has been charged with third-degree theft by unlawful taking in connection with the incident.

An investigation by the MCPO Financial Crimes and Public Corruption Bureau was initiated earlier this year after the Red Bank Education Foundation performed a financial audit and identified a series of unauthorized withdrawals from its bank account that could not be reconciled. Four were made in 2020, when the foundation was inactive due to the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The investigation showed that at the time of the withdrawals, Yassin had served as treasurer of the nonprofit, which funds educational opportunities in the areas of science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics for local low-income and/or disadvantaged students. A review of financial records revealed that Yassin was responsible for the withdrawals, which totaled $7,650, and reference to some of them was missing from the nonprofit’s treasury reports.

Yassin was served the charge against him on a summons, pending a first appearance to take place in Monmouth County Superior Court.

This case has been assigned to Monmouth County Assistant Prosecutor Lawrence Nelsen, Director of the MCPO Financial Crimes and Public Corruption Bureau. Yassin is being represented by Robert A. Honecker, Jr., with an office in Freehold.

If convicted, Yassin could face a prison term of up to five years.

— Edited press release from the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office