New York ( CNN ) -- Charges were filed Tuesday against 17 people accused of taking more than $ 42 million from programs established to help Holocaust survivors , authorities said . `` The alleged fraud is as substantial as it is galling '' said Preet Bharara , U.S. attorney for New York 's Southern District , calling it a `` perverse and pervasive fraud committed against a not-for-profit organization of historic significance . '' Over a period of almost 16 years , millions of dollars intended for Holocaust survivors `` instead found its way into the pockets of corrupt employees of the Claims Conference and an elaborate network of fraudsters , '' Bharara told reporters Tuesday afternoon . The money came from two funds managed by the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany , also known as the Claims Conference , a nonprofit that was established almost 60 years ago to assist those harmed by Nazis . The Claims Conference distributes more than $ 400 million a year from funds provided by the German government to victims of the Holocaust . Bharara said conference officials first noticed the fraud and went to the FBI in December 2009 . `` The Claims Conference is to be commended for notifying us as soon as they found out there were issues , '' he said . Six of the 17 people charged Tuesday with fraud and conspiracy are former and currant employees of the Claims Conference , according to Bharara . He called Semen Domnitser the `` ringleader '' of the fraud , saying that for more than 10 years he served as the director and oversaw both the Hardship Fund and the Article Two Fund . The Hardship Fund makes one-time payments of about $ 3,600 to victims who were forced to leave their homes while fleeing advancing Nazis troops . Bharara said some 5,000 fraudulent applications worth $ 18 million were processed through the fund . The Article Two Fund gives pension payments of roughly $ 411 a month to those who earn less than $ 16,000 after taxes and spent a minimum of six months in a concentration camp or at least 18 months in a Jewish ghetto in hiding or living under a false identity to avoid the Nazis . Bharara said that this fund had processed over 650 fraudulent applications worth more than $ 25.5 million . The Claims Conference issued a statement saying that since discovering the fraud , it had implemented numerous steps to strengthen its safeguards . `` We are outraged that individuals would steal money intended for survivors of history 's worst crime to enrich themselves , '' said Julius Berman , chairman of the Claims Conference . Bharara said that applicants were recruited from the Russian-Jewish community and that fake birth dates , birthplaces and `` fabricated stories of persecution , completely made up stories about what happened to these individuals during World War II , '' were written in their applications . Bharara said the investigation continues and that some of the thousands of applicants also might be charged . It was unclear in some cases if the applicants knew that fraud was being committed , he said . Sixteen of the 17 people charged Tuesday have been arrested and four of them have admitted their guilt , Bharara said . `` We will bring to justice all those who would callously line their own pockets by looting an important lifeline for Holocaust survivors , '' he said .
Seventeen people are accused of taking part in the alleged fraud . False claims were filed to get money from two funds , the U.S. attorney says . The scheme went on for nearly 16 years , he says .