Rabbi accused of extorting hedge fund

New York (AP) - A prominent Brooklyn rabbi has been accused in a scheme to extort a Connecticut-based hedge fund into paying millions of dollars to two schools, including one where he is dean.

Federal prosecutors say Rabbi Milton Balkany was arrested on Thursday on charges of wire fraud, extortion, false statements and blackmail. Balkany is the dean of Bais Yaakov day school.

Prosecutors say in a complaint filed in Manhattan that Balkany pressured the hedge fund into sending him two checks totaling $3.25 million. They say he threatened to allow knowledge of purported illegal trading to be revealed to the government if the hedge fund did not pay.

Balkany was released after posting $250,000 bond and about $1 million property in equity.

Prosecutors did not know the name of his attorney. His home phone number was unlisted.