Ari Teman is a New York-based comedian, Jewish community organizer, and tech entrepreneur who was convicted in 2020 on federal bank fraud and wire fraud charges tied to his intercom company GateGuard, sentenced in 2021 to a year and a day in prison, and designated a fugitive by a federal judge in 2025 after failing to return to the United States from Israel while on supervised release.
Who Ari Teman Is
Before the criminal case, Teman was best known for two things: Jewish community work and a viral Airbnb story.
In 2007 he founded JCorps, a volunteer network for Jewish adults aged 18 to 28 that placed young people at food banks, soup kitchens, and senior care facilities.1eJewish Philanthropy. And the Winner Is By 2009 JCorps operated in nine cities across the United States, Canada, and Israel, engaging roughly 10,000 volunteers, and that year the Jewish Federations of North America named Teman its first “Jewish Community Hero,” awarding him $25,000 after a contest that drew more than 600,000 online votes.2Jewish Journal. Jewish Community Hero He worked as a standup comedian in the same period.
In March 2014, Teman rented his Chelsea apartment through Airbnb to someone who claimed to be in town for a wedding but instead used the unit to host what media reports called a “XXX Freak Fest,” an adult film party that damaged the apartment.3Times of Israel. Comic Sues Building After Orgy Outcry Airbnb compensated him for the damage. The story went national and briefly made him a cautionary figure in the short-term rental debate. Teman later sued his condo building, its management company, and the superintendent in Manhattan Supreme Court, seeking more than $2.7 million and alleging defamation and interference with business relations, including a claim that the superintendent had called him a “dirty Jew.”4NY Daily News. Airbnb Orgy Victim Sues New York Condo
The GateGuard Fraud Charges
Teman’s federal case grew out of GateGuard, Inc., a Florida-based company he founded that made and installed intercom devices for apartment buildings.5vLex. United States v. Teman
Prosecutors in the Southern District of New York alleged that between March and June 2019, Teman created and deposited 29 unauthorized “remotely created checks” drawn on the bank accounts of GateGuard customers. Two checks totaling $36,000 were deposited in March 2019, followed by 27 checks totaling $297,000 between April and June.5vLex. United States v. Teman Teman told the banks processing the checks that customers had knowingly authorized the withdrawals, describing the funds as owed for items such as “device removal fees.” At trial, customers testified that they had never authorized the charges, disputed owing the fees, and had not given him permission to pull money from their accounts. Bank of America absorbed more than $259,000 in chargeback losses.6FindLaw. United States v. Teman, 465 F.Supp.3d 277
Teman was arrested in the Southern District of Florida on July 3, 2019, and released on a $25,000 bond. The case was assigned to U.S. District Judge Paul A. Engelmayer in Manhattan, and by January 2020 Teman faced six counts: two counts of bank fraud, two counts of wire fraud, and two counts of aggravated identity theft.6FindLaw. United States v. Teman, 465 F.Supp.3d 277
Trial, Conviction, and Sentence
Teman’s trial began January 22, 2020. His defense relied in part on a clause in GateGuard’s “Payment Terms” that he argued allowed the company to withdraw funds from customers who owed unpaid debts.5vLex. United States v. Teman Prosecutors argued the clickwrap contract’s structure, which tucked key terms behind hyperlinks to subpages, was itself evidence of fraudulent intent.7Justice for Ari. Pardon Ari Teman
On January 29, 2020, the jury convicted Teman on all four fraud counts. Judge Engelmayer denied his post-trial motions, which alleged Brady violations and prosecutorial misconduct, on June 5, 2020.6FindLaw. United States v. Teman, 465 F.Supp.3d 277
Sentencing came on July 28 and 29, 2021. The advisory guidelines called for 30 to 37 months, the range recommended by both prosecutors and the presentence report.8Casemine. United States v. Teman, Order Dated April 15, 2022 Judge Engelmayer imposed a below-guidelines sentence of one year and one day on each count, running concurrently, followed by three years of supervised release. The court ordered $259,340.32 in restitution to Bank of America and a $330,000 forfeiture money judgment representing the full fraud proceeds, and granted bail pending appeal over the government’s objection.9CourtListener. United States v. Teman Docket
Appeal and Prison
Teman filed a notice of appeal in August 2021 and stayed free on bail while it was pending. On June 8, 2023, the Second Circuit affirmed his conviction.10Casemine. United States v. Teman, 2023 WL 3882974 Teman had argued the case should not have been tried in Manhattan, but the appeals court held that venue was proper because Signature Bank employees in Manhattan had reviewed the fraudulent checks as part of the bank’s fraud detection process, an act in furtherance of the scheme even though those employees were trying to stop it.11U.S. District Court, S.D.N.Y. Opinion and Order Citing Teman
Teman was then incarcerated at FCI Miami. He sought compassionate release, citing medical concerns; Judge Engelmayer denied the motion on January 24, 2024, denied reconsideration on March 22, 2024, and on March 28, 2024, denied a request for transfer to a halfway house or home confinement, while directing prosecutors to work with the Bureau of Prisons to arrange a specialist examination and appropriate dietary accommodations.12Leagle. United States v. Teman13CourtListener. United States v. Teman Docket
Fugitive Status
Teman finished his prison term and began three years of supervised release. In July 2024, Judge Engelmayer denied his request for blanket approval to travel internationally but left the door open for individual trips. That September the court approved a trip to Israel from September 18 through November 6, 2024, and released his passport.14CourtListener. United States v. Teman Docket
He did not come back. In January 2025 Teman filed a motion to reside in Israel indefinitely, pointing to a lack of affordable flights, a letter from an Israeli rabbi asserting a religious obligation to live in Israel, and a doctor’s note about an ear infection. Judge Engelmayer denied the motion on January 24, 2025, and ordered him to return by February 28, 2025.15CourtListener. United States v. Teman Docket The deadline was later extended to June 1, 2025. Teman still did not return.
On June 12, 2025, the U.S. Probation Department issued a violation report charging him with two specifications: failure to abide by travel restrictions and failure to return to the United States. The court formally designated him a fugitive. Through orders in July and September 2025, Judge Engelmayer invoked the fugitive disentitlement doctrine and declined to consider further motions from Teman until he was no longer a fugitive, and in August 2025 the Second Circuit affirmed that approach, finding his appeals lacked “an arguable basis either in law or in fact.”16CourtListener. United States v. Teman Docket A federal habeas corpus petition and a separate civil suit Teman filed against the U.S. Probation Service have been stayed under the same doctrine.17CourtListener. Teman v. United States of America Docket
Teman has repeatedly asked Judge Engelmayer to recuse himself, alleging among other things a financial conflict involving a company connected to Bank of America.18Jerusalem Post. Ari Teman Appeals to Second Circuit The Chief Judge of the Southern District of New York reviewed those recusal motions and found no valid basis to disqualify Engelmayer.15CourtListener. United States v. Teman Docket
The Pardon Campaign
Since the conviction, supporters have run a public campaign, “Justice for Ari,” seeking a presidential pardon. Its core argument is that the matter was a commercial dispute over unpaid invoices between GateGuard and its building-owner customers, and belonged in civil court rather than a federal criminal indictment. Backers allege prosecutors withheld exculpatory evidence, relied on testimony from a landlord identified among New York City’s “worst landlords,” and suborned perjury.7Justice for Ari. Pardon Ari Teman
Harvard Law professor Alan Dershowitz called the prosecution a “grave, grave injustice,” and Harvard Law professor Lawrence Lessig attributed it to the inexperience of frontline prosecutors who realized too late that the case involved “ordinary online commerce” rather than criminal enterprise. Teman maintains that customers had contractually authorized the withdrawals, though customers testified at trial that they did not anticipate the charges and had not fully read the contract terms. The campaign has released a video with more than 60 supporters, including rabbis, family members, and comedians such as Conan O’Brien staff writer Brian Kiley and Dan Naturman, urging President Trump to grant a pardon.19Times of Israel. US Rabbis Appeal to Trump: Pardon Jewish Comic Accused of Bank Fraud The advocacy site also cites U.S. Pardon Attorney Ed Martin Jr. as agreeing that Teman is innocent and should be pardoned.20Justice for Ari. Justice for Ari Teman No pardon has been granted.