Fraud

In Ezra Unger's entanglement with New York authorities, the mess in a Williamsburg real estate project was revealed, including millions in advances taken from buyers, ownership disputes, and loss of control over the building. Alongside an affidavit in which he claims he cannot pay the fine, it is alleged that in the Arkia deal, too, he is 'merely a broker who brings no money from home'.

A 50-year-old resident of the Negev Bedouin sector is accused of concealing marriages to two women from the National Insurance Institute. By presenting them as common-law partners, he fraudulently obtained hundreds of thousands of shekels.

Less than a year after his release from prison, the former owner of a New York insurance agency has filed for bankruptcy. Among the creditors are defrauded insurance companies, tax authorities, and banks.

A Der Spiegel investigation has uncovered a scheme in which dozens of Chinese nationals are suspected of forging Jewish roots to obtain German citizenship. At least 16 individuals have already received German passports by exploiting the life stories of actual Holocaust victims.

A bankruptcy hearing for contractor Gilad Rubinsky turned into a confrontation with dozens of angry customers and former employees. Allegations suggest that funds collected for unperformed work were spent on gambling.

A Gallup survey found that 6% of Americans were scammed in one year. Psychological research explains why doctors, lawyers, and cybersecurity experts fall for scams just like everyone else, as criminals exploit emotions rather than a lack of knowledge.

In an interview with The Times, Shimon Hayut, who reportedly swindled about $10 million from his victims, said: "Call me a swindler, I don't care - I'm laughing all the way to the bank." For the first time in 15 years, he is a free man after the investigation in Germany was closed and the Leviev family lawsuit was withdrawn. One of his victims: "He won't change, only the law can change that."

The Tax Authority arrested a brother and sister suspected of running a sophisticated network of shell companies, whose sole purpose was the distribution and offsetting of fictitious invoices in unprecedented volumes for various companies.

People aged 60 and over in the US lost $7.7 billion to fraud in one year, a jump of nearly 60%, and AI voice cloning is the main fuel. In Israel, reports of phishing and impersonation of bank centers are also surging, and protection begins with a family code word and a one-minute verification call.

Nora traveled to visit her 75-year-old father, only to discover he had passed away. The situation escalated when she realized the caregiver had obtained power of attorney and transferred the property to her name for a nominal fee. Nora is now fighting in court to void the transaction.

Five residents of Haifa and Tamra were arrested on suspicion of defrauding more than 30 victims across the country. According to the police, they sent messages about alleged debts with a link, through which they took control of bank accounts and withdrew money from them. The scope of the theft is estimated at more than 3 million shekels.

An Israeli tourist in France claimed that a taxi driver scammed her and charged her card 2,555 euros instead of ten. The court rejected her lawsuit against the credit card company CAL and determined that the company acted properly since the passenger entered a secret code. The judge ruled that the precautionary measures were reasonable and ordered the plaintiff to pay expenses.

The Ministry of Health announced that several reports have been received stating that Dr. Michael Yanko, whose medical license was suspended for 15 years, continues to provide mental health consultations, including opinions for children and adolescents. The Ministry clarifies: "All opinions, certificates, and diagnoses provided by him are invalid."

Amar Al-Aasam was arrested on suspicion of bribery, fraud, money laundering, breach of trust, and bid rigging, and his detention was extended by eight days. The investigation was conducted covertly in recent months, and in its framework, additional suspects were arrested and others were detained for questioning.

The apartment of the late Davar journalist Aliza Valach on Shenkin Street was broken into, her credit card and car were stolen, and an attempt was made to take over the property. Her death does not appear in the records, and the Ministries of Health and Interior are disclaiming responsibility. The case exposes the systemic consequences of a process that opens the door for criminals.

A woman claimed she was a victim of scammers who convinced her to transfer money to them. The court agreed that a fraud had taken place, but ruled that it was not proven that the actual buyers were part of it.

Natalie Haya Tolmas ordered food from the Sushi Room restaurant in Herzliya, only to be targeted by a fraudster posing as staff who convinced her to provide her credit card details again. In an interview with "Morning News," she detailed the cunning scam and warned others to remain vigilant.

Following a covert investigation that lasted for months, large forces raided the local council offices. The suspicion: the council head facilitated the rigging of tenders and the employment of fictitious workers. The alleged attempts to transfer funds from the authority's coffers to their private pockets, and the concern in the police: "They are trying to turn official law enforcement authorities...

Creating a digital currency has become simple and inexpensive, but the resulting profits are now firmly on the authorities' radar. South Korea is leading the way in tracking unreported crypto activity to ensure tax compliance.

The Tel Aviv District Court criticized Meta regarding the 26 million shekel lawsuit filed by Bank Leumi, ordering the company to submit its response by September 2.

Ohad Ratzon is suspected of theft from clients, assisting in tax evasion, and money laundering. He was previously investigated for reporting 1.4 million shekels in fictitious expenses. The court has issued a 180-day travel ban.

A young woman who requested a 24,000 shekel loan via Telegram was robbed by two suspects immediately after withdrawing the cash. The lender is now blackmailing the victim, demanding repayment of the stolen funds.

A massive fraud case involving the beverage company BLU and its owner Anan Shamshum is heading toward indictments. The scheme, which cost the state treasury hundreds of millions of shekels, centered on falsifying beverage container recycling reports.

External parties used the name of Beilinson Hospital and the identities of its staff to deceive a patient living abroad. Following an inquiry, the fraud was exposed, and a formal complaint was filed with the police.

An investigation by the Central District's Fraud and Cyber Unit has led to the arrest of a 60-year-old lawyer from Tira. The suspect allegedly forged documents to falsely lead courts, police, and the Licensing Office to believe that disqualified drivers had surrendered their licenses, while they continued to drive.

Scammers are using AI to clone the voices of family members to convince the elderly to transfer money to them. After scammers tried to target his partner's father, entrepreneur Yaron Shemesh developed an app that attempts to combat the phenomenon.

A couple from Bat Yam is accused of posing as insurance company representatives, providing victims with accurate personal details to gain their trust, and then convincing them to provide codes that allowed money to be withdrawn from their bank accounts. According to the indictment, the total amount stolen is 408,400 shekels.

A couple in their 20s contacted numerous citizens from the Arab community and gained their trust using accurate personal details. They convinced them to provide cash withdrawal codes and fled from ATMs on electric scooters. Today, an indictment was filed against them for fraud amounting to hundreds of thousands of shekels.

For long months, crowds of tourists visiting the town of Arconiano in northern Italy heaped praise on a spectacular "Greek amphitheater" they found on a hilltop. The site received a perfect five-star rating on TripAdvisor before it was revealed to be a modern forgery.

Brazil was shaken when it was revealed that Amanda Maria Souza de Oliveira managed for 14 months to make a kind-hearted couple think she was a little girl who survived abuse, host her in their home, provide her with toys, and throw her a birthday party. She adopted baby talk and used pacifiers until she was exposed. Now she is going to prison for “emotional kidnapping.”

A massive drama at one of the largest crypto exchanges after the founder was kidnapped and the CEO who replaced him also suddenly disappeared, leaving over a million clients helpless and without access to their money.

An insurance agent who defrauded his clients and pocketed more than 225,000 shekels was sentenced to nine months of community service, a 5,000 shekel fine, and compensation. For four years, he sold 47 clients forged compulsory insurance certificates from the "Menora" company, copying payment stamps from other policies and leaving them without insurance coverage.

Artificial intelligence did not invent fraud, but according to researchers at a leading cyber investigation firm, scams have become faster, more sophisticated, and cheaper. Does the era of deepfakes and fake representatives leave crypto users defenseless?

A new phishing campaign in the crypto sector has targeted approximately 885,000 phone numbers. Can an innocent message arriving on your mobile lead to access to your digital wallet?

Christine Hunsicker, founder of the fashion tech firm CaaStle, has been sentenced to five years in prison for a $300 million fraud. The court rejected her defense citing a head injury.

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.

An ABC investigation has exposed an international investment fraud network that allegedly operated from Israel and scammed more than 4,000 Australians out of hundreds of millions of dollars. Among the victims: a man who lost $125,000 after being unable to withdraw his money.

An investigation by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) has exposed an investment fraud network operating from Israel since 2021, which lured over 4,000 Australians, among other things, through fake news articles. The network, which the investigation claims is run by Israeli Shefi Goldberg, is estimated to have raked in hundreds of millions of dollars from its victims, which were...

Gang member Oleg Pogosian reenacted before police how he defrauded Russian-speaking seniors. According to the indictment, the group posed as National Insurance Institute officials using data obtained from the darknet. Police Major Sergei Dalgats condemned the acts as the height of cynicism.

A liquidation request was filed against the Atid Association - Jadeidi-Makr, which was intended to eradicate violence, after serious deficiencies were discovered, including suspicion of collecting double payments from parents and transferring over 100,000 shekels in cash abroad.

A fish shop owner from Ramle received a check sent by Dor Alon to a customer as a deposit refund. After denying the charges and undergoing a trial, he was convicted of forgery and fraud.

Tarek Al-Abid (31) from Kuseife has been charged with forging documents and impersonating others to sell stolen vehicles as legal. The fraud continued after the sale, as he would arrange for the vehicles to be stolen again and transferred to the Palestinian Authority.

The army notified reservists that scammers are trying to convince them to "extract" aid funds through videos and images created by artificial intelligence and distributed online. According to the IDF, financial reimbursements are provided only for actual expenses and it is forbidden to submit false documents. One of the entities, with whom we spoke on Channel 12 News, requested a 25% commission...

The IDF has notified reservists that scammers are attempting to convince them to "extract" aid funds using videos and images created by artificial intelligence. According to the army, financial reimbursements are provided only under specific conditions, and the submission of false documents is a criminal offense. One entity, interviewed by Channel 12 News, requested a 25% commission and admitted...

Bank Leumi has filed a 26.6 million NIS lawsuit against Meta in the Tel Aviv District Court, alleging the systematic distribution of fraudulent ads on Facebook and Instagram that impersonate the bank.

After malicious actors impersonated Eyal Golan and Sarit Hadad to steal credit card details, they are now targeting bank customers. Which financial brand was forced to intervene?

A 26-year-old man is accused of calling customers after obtaining details of their orders, impersonating a business representative, and obtaining their credit card details. According to the indictment, he used the details to carry out 20 transactions totaling hundreds of thousands of shekels, purchasing, among other things, luxury clothing, shoes, and sunglasses.

The Capital Market Authority has imposed financial sanctions totaling approximately 10.5 million shekels on Ne'emanut Insurance Agency for violations in the pension sector. The agency misled clients and encouraged them to make illegal early withdrawals of pension savings.

Months after the exposure of a reserve fund fraud scheme, the IDF Manpower Directorate has issued a stern warning against submitting fictitious invoices and using dubious "intermediary services." The army clarifies that submitting false documents may constitute a criminal offense, and any funds obtained fraudulently must be returned.

Reports from the center of the country describe notes appearing to be official, placed on windshields and demanding payment of hundreds of shekels, while behind the innocent QR code hides a sophisticated scam.