Charles Kushner hired two fellow inmates

Charles Kushner hired two fellow inmates at his family company after he was released from prison.

Avi Lebor and Richard Goettlich were both in a federal penitentiary in Alabama when Kushner [TRDataCustom] arrived there in April 2005 after pleading guilty to tax evasion, witness tampering and illegal campaign contributions.

Lebor was serving a seven-year sentence for collecting $9 million in advance fees for loans that never materialized. Goettlich was serving a 10-year sentence for money laundering, securities fraud and tax evasion. He ran a ponzi scheme centered around office equipment leases and was ordered to pay $271 million in fines and refunds to thousands of investors in 1999.

Lebor joined Kushner Companies as director of acquisitions in 2009, the year he was released from prison, Bloomberg reported. Goettlich was freed in 2008 and joined Kushner Companies three years later as a leasing consultant. Goettlich’s son also worked at the company from 2008 to 2012.

A Kushner Companies spokesperson told Bloomberg that the company is proud to have hired both felons under its second-chance program.

After Charles’ imprisonment, his son Jared officially took over the family company and led the company as CEO until this month, when he left to take a job in the White House. Laurent Morali now heads the firm as president, but sources say Charles, who left prison in 2006, wields considerable influence behind the scenes. [Bloomberg] — Konrad Putzier