The former treasurer of a Red Bank nonprofit organization has been criminally charged with stealing thousands of dollars from the organization over the course of two years, Acting Monmouth County Prosecutor Lori Linskey announced on May 9.
Hazim Yassin, 32, of Middletown, is charged with third degree theft by unlawful taking, according to a press release from the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office.
According to the press release, an investigation by the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office Financial Crimes and Public Corruption Bureau was initiated earlier this year after the Red Bank Borough Education Foundation performed a financial audit and identified a series of unauthorized withdrawals from its bank account that could not be reconciled – including four withdrawls 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 the treasurer of the nonprofit organization, which funds educational opportunities in the areas of science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics for local low-income and/or disadvantaged students, according to the press release.
A review of financial records revealed Yassin was allegedly responsible for the withdrawals, which totaled $7,650, and reference to some of them was missing from the nonprofit organization’s treasury reports.
Yassin was served the charge against him on a summons, pending a first appearance to take place in state Superior Court, Freehold. If convicted of the charge, Yassin would face a prison term of up to five years, according to the press release.
Yassin is a former resident of Red Bank and a former member of the Red Bank Borough Council. He served on the council from January 2019 through December 2021. Yassin sought re-election to his council seat in 2021, but was defeated in the June 2021 Democratic primary election.