Gmach Shefa Chaim is a Hasidic charitable organization within the Orthodox Jewish community, associated with the Sanz community and operating as a gemach providing interest-free loans to members in need, a common practice in Jewish communities. Based in Union City, New Jersey, with offices, books, and records maintained at Yitzchok Friedlander's residence, it maintained accounts at Valley National Bank and allegedly commingled funds from other accounts, such as Boyoner Gemilas Chesed. Operated by Lavel Schwartz, who admitted in 2014 to running it as an illegal bank and falsifying taxes, the organization ostensibly supported the Orthodox Jewish community in Brooklyn and New Jersey. However, it became notorious for its central role in an international money-laundering conspiracy uncovered during the FBI's Operation Bid Rig corruption sting in 2009. It served as a vehicle for real estate developers and rabbis, including Moshe Altman, to conceal illicit funds through a subterranean banking system that exploited its tax-exempt status and lack of regulatory oversight, and it functioned as a sister gemach used within the same money laundering network. The fund accepted bank checks—representing approximately $357,500 in proceeds from bank fraud and the sale of counterfeit goods—from undercover informants and returned physical cash minus a commission, facilitating 'pay-to-play' schemes for political donations to secure building permits and official favors in Union City. Although the charity itself was not indicted, $508,925 was seized from its account on July 23, 2009, and in 2010, a federal judge ruled it could not sue civilly to recover the funds, directing remedies through related criminal cases. Post-2014, public information on its status or operations is limited, though similar-named entities exist in Brooklyn and elsewhere, potentially unrelated, highlighting vulnerabilities in informal charitable networks within close-knit communities.