Contractor faked roof work: Elderly woman paid hundreds of thousands of shekels
The prosecution has charged 52-year-old contractor Dani Saar with taking advantage of an elderly client by charging her for non-existent waterproofing work. Saar faces charges of aggravated fraud, extortion, tax evasion, and money laundering.
A waterproofing contractor named Dani Saar arrived at the home of an elderly woman in Tel Aviv to treat a leak, but according to the indictment filed against him, the project turned into a series of false pretenses, resulting in the client handing over 41 checks totaling 786,800 shekels.
The prosecution claims that the contractor exploited the woman's advanced age and her inability to supervise the work. He demanded hundreds of thousands of shekels for unnecessary building materials while failing to perform any actual waterproofing. He is now charged with aggravated fraud, extortion, tax offenses, and money laundering.
The indictment was filed in the Tel Aviv District Court against 52-year-old Dani Saar, who managed a renovation business between 2015 and 2022. According to the indictment, Saar closed his tax file in November 2021 but continued to perform contracting work for payment without notifying tax authorities.
The affair began in August 2022, when an 81-year-old woman contacted Saar regarding a leak in an apartment she owned on Jabotinsky Street in Tel Aviv. Saar estimated the cost at 42,000 shekels. The woman and her son accepted the offer without a written contract, and Saar demanded the full amount in cash upon completion.
Two months later, the woman contacted him again regarding a leak in a private house she owned in Holon. Saar offered to perform roof waterproofing and additional repairs for 80,000 shekels. Again, the agreement was made orally without a written contract.
According to the prosecution, throughout October and November 2022, Saar went up to the roof daily to create the appearance of working, "even though in practice he did not perform any actual waterproofing work." He convinced the woman that additional materials were needed, totaling hundreds of thousands of shekels. He instructed her to fill out and sign 41 checks according to his dictation, while demanding that she leave the beneficiary field blank.
Systematic tax evasion
The indictment also alleges that Saar committed large-scale tax offenses over several years. Out of the funds received from the elderly woman, he issued only one invoice for 40,000 shekels, failing to report the remaining income to tax authorities with the intent to evade payment.
Furthermore, it is alleged that between 2020 and 2022, Saar performed work for various clients, receiving at least 2,644,213 shekels. In 2022 alone, despite earning at least 1.4 million shekels, he reportedly failed to file any VAT reports.
