Bloomberg Law
Sept. 17, 2022, 2:00 PM

The ‘Billionaire Rabbi Astrologer’ Who Faked a Lord & Taylor Bid

Bob Van Voris
Bob Van Voris
Bloomberg News

Rabbi Clifford Ari Getz, PhD -- multibillionaire, astrologer, CIA hired hand -- will never rank among the great con artists.

Mary Baker masqueraded as Princess Caraboo. Frank “Catch Me If You Can” Abagnale impersonated a pilot, doctor and lawyer. Anna Sorokin, the SoHo scammer, posed as German heiress.

Rabbi Getz (in truth, Russell Dwayne Lewis, and not a rabbi at all, according to federal prosecutors in Manhattan) made a play for a storied name in American business. Finally, the feds showed up.

Lewis was arrested in August and accused of faking a $290 million bid in bankruptcy court for Lord ...