Page 14 - IAV Digital Magazine #566

iAV - Antelope Valley Digital Magazine
City of Newark Falls For Sister City Scam: "Whose Job Was It To Do A Simple Google Search?"
By Ali Bauman
NEWARK, N.J. -- The city of Newark is admit- ting it got scammed.
It was about to become a Sister City with a Hindu nation, but there was one problem -- the nation doesn't exist.
As CBS2's Ali Bauman reports, the city only
found out about the fraud after it held an official ceremony for it.
What started off as a seemingly well-intentioned partnership has turned into a giant embarrassment for the city of Newark.
Earlier this year, Mayor Ras Baraka invited what he thought was the Hindu
nation of Kailasa to Newark's City Hall for a cultural trade agreement, but it turns out Kailasa is no nation at all; it's a fake.
"Very embarrass- ing for the city," Newark resident Jacob Rosario said.
"I truly don't even have words for it," Newark resident Atiyah Harris
said.
"I'm really sorry for the city that they got duped in that way," Newark resident Amaris Mitchell said.
Though it has a detailed website, "Kailasa" has no real government. It's the brainchild of Swami Nithyananda, a notorious scam artist and fugitive from India who
has been on the run from rape charges since 2019.
"Whose job was it to do a simple Google search? No one in City Hall, not one per- son did a Google search, so maybe we need a trans- formation of City Hall 'cause not one person said, let me go and Google and figure out this was a fake city," Newark resident Shakee Merritt said.
A few days after the papers were signed, City Council rescinded the agreement.
"This is an over- sight, cannot hap- pen any longer," City Councilman Luis Quintana said.
Newark City Hall insists no money
was exchanged in this deal to become sister cities. The mayor's office told us that based on this deception, the ceremony was groundless and void.
In a statement, City Hall said, "Although this was a regrettable incident, the city of Newark remains commit- ted to partnering with people from diverse cultures in order to enrich each other with connectivity, sup- port, and mutual respect."
"It's great, show love to the Hindu brothers and sis- ters, but... yeah, it's a moment," Mitchell said.
Residents hope the next Sister City comes with a Google search.
iAV - Antelope Valley Digital Magazine