Man Pleads Guilty to Damaging Brooklyn Headquarters of Chabad-Lubavitch Movement

Dan Sohail pleaded guilty Tuesday in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York to damaging religious property at the Brooklyn headquarters of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement.

The proceeding took place before U.S. District Judge Eric N. Vitaliano. Per the Department of Justice announcement, Sohail now faces a statutory maximum of three years in prison and mandatory restitution when sentenced.

The single-count offense directly affects the Chabad-Lubavitch movement, whose world headquarters at 770 Eastern Parkway in Brooklyn serves as the central administrative and religious hub for the Hasidic organization. The movement maintains more than 5,000 educational and outreach centers in over 100 countries and serves an estimated global population of more than one million adherents.

The plea changes the case status from pending trial to post-conviction. Sentencing will occur on a date not yet set by the court. Upon sentencing the judge must impose restitution covering the full amount of damage caused to the property.

Downstream the conviction requires the U.S. Probation Office to prepare a presentence investigation report for Judge Vitaliano. The Department of Justice must calculate and document the precise restitution figure before the hearing. Once imposed, the restitution order becomes enforceable by the court and can be collected through federal debt-collection mechanisms.

The case also establishes a public record of accountability for crimes against houses of worship, which federal law treats as distinct offenses under 18 U.S.C. § 247.

This marks the resolution of a prosecution brought by the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York. The department has pursued similar religious-property damage cases in recent years under the same statute, each requiring mandatory restitution to the affected institutions.