--- description: The FBI and other officials began a series of raids across Kiryas Joel in Orange County, New York on Thursday title: FBI Raids New York Orthodox Jewish Village of Kiryas Joel image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [U.S.](/section/us/) ## U.S. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # FBI Raids New York Orthodox Jewish Village Kiryas Joel  by [Julia Zorthian](/author/julia-zorthian/)  ## Julia Zorthian Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close May 12, 2016 5:42 PM CUT  by [Julia Zorthian](/author/julia-zorthian/)  ## Julia Zorthian Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close May 12, 2016 5:42 PM CUT The FBI and other officials conducted [a series of raids](http://www.lohud.com/story/news/local/new-york/2016/05/12/kiryas-joel-raids/84279058/ "undefined") across the largely Orthodox Jewish village of Kiryas Joel in Orange County, New York on Thursday. At least seven agents removed items from a yeshiva run by the United Talmudical Academy, the village’s school system, local news site [The _Journal News_ reports](http://www.lohud.com/story/news/local/new-york/2016/05/12/kiryas-joel-raids/84279058/ "undefined"). The cause of the raids was not known as of Thursday afternoon. An FBI spokesperson [confirmed the search](http://gothamist.com/2016/05/12/fbi%5Fraid%5Fkiryas%5Fjoel.php "undefined") to Gothamist, but would not comment on the nature of the investigation. An Orange County Sheriff’s Office [assisted with the raids](http://forward.com/news/340523/updated-federal-agents-raid-new-york-hasidic-village/ "undefined"). In March, FBI raided other Orthodox communities throughout Rockland County in connection with religious schools [possibly misusing](http://www.lohud.com/story/news/local/rockland/2016/03/16/yeshiva-technology-records-raid/81808252/ "undefined") federal funding for “e-rate” technology. Members of the ultra-orthodox Satmar Hasidic sect largely populate Kiryas Joel. \[[_The Journal News_](http://www.lohud.com/story/news/local/rockland/2016/03/16/yeshiva-technology-records-raid/81808252/ "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4328144/fbi-new-york-orthodox-jewish-kiryas-joel/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4328144/fbi-new-york-orthodox-jewish-kiryas-joel/"},"headline":"FBI Raids New York Orthodox Jewish Village Kiryas Joel","datePublished":"2016-05-12T17:42:40.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T17:30:37.212Z","description":"It was not immediately clear what the FBI was investigating on Thursday.","url":"https://time.com/4328144/fbi-new-york-orthodox-jewish-kiryas-joel/","keywords":["Crime","New York"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Julia Zorthian","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/julia-zorthian/"}],"articleSection":"U.S.","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/us/","name":"U.S."}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4328144/fbi-new-york-orthodox-jewish-kiryas-joel/","name":"FBI Raids New York Orthodox Jewish Village Kiryas Joel"}}]}] ```