7 aug 2019
Yucom employees falsely guaranteed profits, lied about their historical rates of return, falsely guaranteed profits and didn't tell investors that they only made money if their customers lost money, prosecutors said
An Israeli woman was convicted Wednesday of charges she orchestrated a scheme to defraud tens of thousands of investors across the globe out of tens of millions of dollars.
Lee Elbaz, 38, is scheduled to be sentenced Dec. 9 by a federal judge in Maryland following her conviction on of three counts of wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, according to Justice Department spokesman Peter Carr. Each count carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.
Elbaz was CEO of Yukom Communications, an Israel-based company that operated in the "binary options" industry under the brand names BinaryBook and BigOption.
Elbaz trained employees to lie to investors and rigged the odds against them making and recouping any money, Justice Department prosecutor Rush Atkinson said during the trial's closing arguments last week.
"There is no way this fraud happened without Lee Elbaz," Atkinson said. "Everybody told the exact same lies because that is what Ms. Elbaz trained them to do."
Elbaz is one of 15 defendants in the case and was the first to be tried. Five have pleaded guilty and agreed to cooperate with prosecutors.
A February indictment against nine other defendants, including Yukom owner Yosef Herzog, says the scheme involving BinaryBook and BigOption cost investors more than $145 million worldwide, including thousands of victims in the U.S.
Jurors began deliberating last Thursday.
On Tuesday, a judge replaced one of the 12 jurors with an alternate after the dismissed juror said he overhead somebody making disparaging remarks about Elbaz while visiting an unspecified "local establishment" on Sunday. U.S. District Judge George Hazel denied a request by Elbaz's attorney to declare a mistrial. The judge instructed jurors to start their deliberations "from scratch."
Defense attorney Barry Pollack said Elbaz didn't condone any of the fraudulent tactics used by employees who worked under her supervision at a call center in Caesarea, Israel. Elbaz urged her employees in writing to "work clean," her attorney said.
"The employees that were defrauding clients were also defrauding Ms. Elbaz," Pollack said. "She was trying to prevent (fraud)."
FBI agents arrested Elbaz in September 2017 after she traveled to New York.
The binary options market largely operates outside the U.S. through unregulated websites. The payout on a binary option typically is linked to whether the price of a particular asset, such as a stock, rises above or falls below a specified amount at a particular time, at which point the investor receives either a pre-determined amount of cash or nothing.
Yukom employees pretended to be from other countries, lied about their professional qualifications and adopted "stage names." Elbaz used the alias "Lena Green" while interacting with investors, according to prosecutors.
Yucom employees also falsely guaranteed profits, lied about their historical rates of return and didn't tell investors that they only made money if their customers lost money, prosecutors said.
An email instructed BinaryBook sales representatives to target retirees, Social Security recipients, pension holders and veterans as clients, according to court filings accompanying guilty pleas by former employees.
"No one here was interested in helping clients," Atkinson said. "It was all a plan to steal money."
Atkinson said it was impossible for Elbaz to miss the rampant fraud in the office she ran.
"You could not have missed the lies that were being told daily from where Ms. Elbaz sat," the prosecutor said.
Elbaz's indictment cites a September 2015 email from one employee to co-workers about a sales "marathon," a competition to obtain deposits from investors.
"This is not a cemetery here! It's a boiler room!" the employee wrote.
Pollack told jurors that his client never crossed a line between "selling" and committing fraud.
"She drew the line exactly where she believed the company's lawyer told her was the proper place to draw the line," Pollack said.
Jurors heard 10 days of testimony for the case against Elbaz, who testified near the end of the trial. Four former Yukom employees who worked under Elbaz also testified.
"Each of those cooperators has zero credibility," Pollack said. "Four times zero is still zero."
An Israeli woman was convicted Wednesday of charges she orchestrated a scheme to defraud tens of thousands of investors across the globe out of tens of millions of dollars.
Lee Elbaz, 38, is scheduled to be sentenced Dec. 9 by a federal judge in Maryland following her conviction on of three counts of wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, according to Justice Department spokesman Peter Carr. Each count carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.
Elbaz was CEO of Yukom Communications, an Israel-based company that operated in the "binary options" industry under the brand names BinaryBook and BigOption.
Elbaz trained employees to lie to investors and rigged the odds against them making and recouping any money, Justice Department prosecutor Rush Atkinson said during the trial's closing arguments last week.
"There is no way this fraud happened without Lee Elbaz," Atkinson said. "Everybody told the exact same lies because that is what Ms. Elbaz trained them to do."
Elbaz is one of 15 defendants in the case and was the first to be tried. Five have pleaded guilty and agreed to cooperate with prosecutors.
A February indictment against nine other defendants, including Yukom owner Yosef Herzog, says the scheme involving BinaryBook and BigOption cost investors more than $145 million worldwide, including thousands of victims in the U.S.
Jurors began deliberating last Thursday.
On Tuesday, a judge replaced one of the 12 jurors with an alternate after the dismissed juror said he overhead somebody making disparaging remarks about Elbaz while visiting an unspecified "local establishment" on Sunday. U.S. District Judge George Hazel denied a request by Elbaz's attorney to declare a mistrial. The judge instructed jurors to start their deliberations "from scratch."
Defense attorney Barry Pollack said Elbaz didn't condone any of the fraudulent tactics used by employees who worked under her supervision at a call center in Caesarea, Israel. Elbaz urged her employees in writing to "work clean," her attorney said.
"The employees that were defrauding clients were also defrauding Ms. Elbaz," Pollack said. "She was trying to prevent (fraud)."
FBI agents arrested Elbaz in September 2017 after she traveled to New York.
The binary options market largely operates outside the U.S. through unregulated websites. The payout on a binary option typically is linked to whether the price of a particular asset, such as a stock, rises above or falls below a specified amount at a particular time, at which point the investor receives either a pre-determined amount of cash or nothing.
Yukom employees pretended to be from other countries, lied about their professional qualifications and adopted "stage names." Elbaz used the alias "Lena Green" while interacting with investors, according to prosecutors.
Yucom employees also falsely guaranteed profits, lied about their historical rates of return and didn't tell investors that they only made money if their customers lost money, prosecutors said.
An email instructed BinaryBook sales representatives to target retirees, Social Security recipients, pension holders and veterans as clients, according to court filings accompanying guilty pleas by former employees.
"No one here was interested in helping clients," Atkinson said. "It was all a plan to steal money."
Atkinson said it was impossible for Elbaz to miss the rampant fraud in the office she ran.
"You could not have missed the lies that were being told daily from where Ms. Elbaz sat," the prosecutor said.
Elbaz's indictment cites a September 2015 email from one employee to co-workers about a sales "marathon," a competition to obtain deposits from investors.
"This is not a cemetery here! It's a boiler room!" the employee wrote.
Pollack told jurors that his client never crossed a line between "selling" and committing fraud.
"She drew the line exactly where she believed the company's lawyer told her was the proper place to draw the line," Pollack said.
Jurors heard 10 days of testimony for the case against Elbaz, who testified near the end of the trial. Four former Yukom employees who worked under Elbaz also testified.
"Each of those cooperators has zero credibility," Pollack said. "Four times zero is still zero."
Deputy health minister, a key Netanyahu coalition partner is facing charges of bribery, breach of trust and fraud in two investigations, including efforts to thwart extradition of accused child sex abuser to Australia
Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit is likely to limit the authority and powers of Deputy Health Minister Yaakov Litzman (United Torah Judaism) in light of the Israel Police recommendation to prosecute him in two separate criminal investigations.
The Israel Police said Tuesday there is sufficient evidence to bring charges against Litzman for fraud, breach of trust and witness tampering in two cases, one of which relates to the extradition of former Melbourne school principal Malka Leifer, who is accused of child sex abuse and the second involving the business of a close associate.
Litzman, the head of the ultra-Orthodox United Torah Judaism party, has been a long-standing key coalition partner of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit is likely to limit the authority and powers of Deputy Health Minister Yaakov Litzman (United Torah Judaism) in light of the Israel Police recommendation to prosecute him in two separate criminal investigations.
The Israel Police said Tuesday there is sufficient evidence to bring charges against Litzman for fraud, breach of trust and witness tampering in two cases, one of which relates to the extradition of former Melbourne school principal Malka Leifer, who is accused of child sex abuse and the second involving the business of a close associate.
Litzman, the head of the ultra-Orthodox United Torah Judaism party, has been a long-standing key coalition partner of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Australia has been pressing Israel to extradite Leifer, who fled Australia in 2008. She is wanted by Australian police on 74 sexual assault charges, including rape, involving girls at the institution.
An Israeli court ruled in 2016 that Leifer, who has denied the charges, was mentally unfit to face extradition and trial.
She was re-arrested in 2018 after a police investigation cast doubts on her health claims, and is in prison awaiting the extradition ruling, which Jerusalem District Court is expected to deliver by September 23.
In a statement, police alleged that Litzman pressured court-appointed psychiatrists operating through the Health Ministry to support Leifer's mental illness claims.
Litzman denied the allegations, telling Ynet he did not know Leifer and had no wish to comment on the investigation.
"I answered all of the questions (from the police) and I strongly deny everything they are saying," Litzman said.
The second investigation concerns allegations that Litzman improperly intervened in an attempt to stop the Health Ministry's prosecution of a Jerusalem deli belonging to a close associate.
Police say there is evidence of fraud, breach of trust and bribery in the investigation into Litzman's actions to protect Beis Yisrael-Goldy's deli. The menu at the deli, which is just one block away from Litzman's home, includes the "Trump Chicken Breast."
A spokesman for the deputy minister said Litzman has always worked for the benefit of Israel's citizens in complete transparency and that he is certain that further review of the evidence will show that he acted according to the law.
An Israeli court ruled in 2016 that Leifer, who has denied the charges, was mentally unfit to face extradition and trial.
She was re-arrested in 2018 after a police investigation cast doubts on her health claims, and is in prison awaiting the extradition ruling, which Jerusalem District Court is expected to deliver by September 23.
In a statement, police alleged that Litzman pressured court-appointed psychiatrists operating through the Health Ministry to support Leifer's mental illness claims.
Litzman denied the allegations, telling Ynet he did not know Leifer and had no wish to comment on the investigation.
"I answered all of the questions (from the police) and I strongly deny everything they are saying," Litzman said.
The second investigation concerns allegations that Litzman improperly intervened in an attempt to stop the Health Ministry's prosecution of a Jerusalem deli belonging to a close associate.
Police say there is evidence of fraud, breach of trust and bribery in the investigation into Litzman's actions to protect Beis Yisrael-Goldy's deli. The menu at the deli, which is just one block away from Litzman's home, includes the "Trump Chicken Breast."
A spokesman for the deputy minister said Litzman has always worked for the benefit of Israel's citizens in complete transparency and that he is certain that further review of the evidence will show that he acted according to the law.
6 aug 2019
Deputy Minister of Health Yaakov Litzman
One of the cases revolves around Melbourne school principal Malka Leifer, who has been fighting extradition to Australia where she must stand trial for multiple charges of sexual assault of minors
The Israel Police announced on Tuesday there it has sufficient evidence to recomend charges against Deputy Minister of Health Yaakov Litzman for fraud, breach of trust and witness tampering in multiple cases including the extradition of former Melbourne school principal Malka Leifer, who is accused of child sex abuse.
The police also says it has evidence of Litzman's culpability including charges of bribery and breach of trust in another case involving a the business of a close associate.
Litzman, an ultra-Orthodox party leader, is a key ally of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
One of the cases revolves around Melbourne school principal Malka Leifer, who has been fighting extradition to Australia where she must stand trial for multiple charges of sexual assault of minors
The Israel Police announced on Tuesday there it has sufficient evidence to recomend charges against Deputy Minister of Health Yaakov Litzman for fraud, breach of trust and witness tampering in multiple cases including the extradition of former Melbourne school principal Malka Leifer, who is accused of child sex abuse.
The police also says it has evidence of Litzman's culpability including charges of bribery and breach of trust in another case involving a the business of a close associate.
Litzman, an ultra-Orthodox party leader, is a key ally of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Malka Leifer fighting extradition to Australia
Malka Leifer has been fighting extradition to Australia where she must stand trial for multiple charges of sexual assault of minors committed over years, when she was principle of an ultra-Orthodox school by is feigning mental.
Deputy Minister Litzman is suspected of exerting unlawful influence on psychiatrists working in his ministry, charged with evaluating Leifer's competence to face an extradition hearing.
A decision by the Jerusalem District Court is expected on September 23.
When asked about the suspicions, Litzman told Ynet he does not know Leifer and does not wish to comment on the investigation but denied the allegations.
The police investigation into the conduct of Lizman included the suspicions he tried to stop his ministry's persecution of a food plant belonging to a close associate.
There too sufficient evidence was found to recomend charges against the minister.
Litzman was also investigated for attempting to arrange preferential treatment of convicted pedophiles serving in prison including attempts to secure early parole, despite the prisoners not having undergone the required treatment while incarcerated.
According to the police, some of these alleged violations acced the statue of limitations and in others, there was not sufficient evidence found to recomend charges.
The spokesman for the deputy minister said the Rabbi Litzman has always worked for the benefit of Israel's citizens in complete transparency and that he is certain that further review of the evidence will show the deputy minister acted according to the law.
Manny Waks who has been an activist on behalf of Leifer's victims said: "Today's police announcement is a much welcome development in this prolonged, sordid case.
"Those of us who have been following this case closely over the years have always wondered how it reached this level of farce - there have been over 50 court hearings, with no end in sight.
"It seems the truth is slowly coming to light; an alleged interference at the highest level, Israel's ultra-Orthodox deputy health minister. Ironically, the highest goverment representative tasked with the health and well-being of Israel's citizens".
Malka Leifer has been fighting extradition to Australia where she must stand trial for multiple charges of sexual assault of minors committed over years, when she was principle of an ultra-Orthodox school by is feigning mental.
Deputy Minister Litzman is suspected of exerting unlawful influence on psychiatrists working in his ministry, charged with evaluating Leifer's competence to face an extradition hearing.
A decision by the Jerusalem District Court is expected on September 23.
When asked about the suspicions, Litzman told Ynet he does not know Leifer and does not wish to comment on the investigation but denied the allegations.
The police investigation into the conduct of Lizman included the suspicions he tried to stop his ministry's persecution of a food plant belonging to a close associate.
There too sufficient evidence was found to recomend charges against the minister.
Litzman was also investigated for attempting to arrange preferential treatment of convicted pedophiles serving in prison including attempts to secure early parole, despite the prisoners not having undergone the required treatment while incarcerated.
According to the police, some of these alleged violations acced the statue of limitations and in others, there was not sufficient evidence found to recomend charges.
The spokesman for the deputy minister said the Rabbi Litzman has always worked for the benefit of Israel's citizens in complete transparency and that he is certain that further review of the evidence will show the deputy minister acted according to the law.
Manny Waks who has been an activist on behalf of Leifer's victims said: "Today's police announcement is a much welcome development in this prolonged, sordid case.
"Those of us who have been following this case closely over the years have always wondered how it reached this level of farce - there have been over 50 court hearings, with no end in sight.
"It seems the truth is slowly coming to light; an alleged interference at the highest level, Israel's ultra-Orthodox deputy health minister. Ironically, the highest goverment representative tasked with the health and well-being of Israel's citizens".
A Sderot resident repeatedly punched the 19-year-old and threatened to kill 'the stinking Arab' after the lifeguard - from Bedouin town of Rahat - cautioned the 34-year-old man against approaching the pool area while smoking and drinking
A resident of the southern city of Sderot violently attacked a Bedouin lifeguard at a local pool and hurled racial slurs at the 19-year-old after being asked not to approach the area while smoking and drinking, said the indictment filed against the 34-year-old man Monday.
Aviad Dahan was charged by the Kiryat Gat Magistrate's Court with causing serious bodily injuries and threatening the lifeguard from the Bedouin town of Rahat at a public swimming pool in the city, after the man had been asked by the teen keep away from the pool while intoxicated.
The request prompted the 34-year-old to start punching the Rahat native with his fists and shouting that “he hates Arabs” while his wife slapped the teen’s face.
At some point during the altercation, Dahan allegedly threatened to kill “the stinking Arab.”
The indictment states that during his interrogation, Dahan reiterated his sentiments, saying what prompted him to lash out was seeing “Arabs and Jews side by side.”
The defendant claims he intends to stick to this line of defense during his trial hearing.
Dahan’s wife, Nofar, was not indicted in the case despite approaching the lifeguard during the incident and repeatedly slapping the teen’s face in front of dozens of onlookers, many of whom were children.
A resident of the southern city of Sderot violently attacked a Bedouin lifeguard at a local pool and hurled racial slurs at the 19-year-old after being asked not to approach the area while smoking and drinking, said the indictment filed against the 34-year-old man Monday.
Aviad Dahan was charged by the Kiryat Gat Magistrate's Court with causing serious bodily injuries and threatening the lifeguard from the Bedouin town of Rahat at a public swimming pool in the city, after the man had been asked by the teen keep away from the pool while intoxicated.
The request prompted the 34-year-old to start punching the Rahat native with his fists and shouting that “he hates Arabs” while his wife slapped the teen’s face.
At some point during the altercation, Dahan allegedly threatened to kill “the stinking Arab.”
The indictment states that during his interrogation, Dahan reiterated his sentiments, saying what prompted him to lash out was seeing “Arabs and Jews side by side.”
The defendant claims he intends to stick to this line of defense during his trial hearing.
Dahan’s wife, Nofar, was not indicted in the case despite approaching the lifeguard during the incident and repeatedly slapping the teen’s face in front of dozens of onlookers, many of whom were children.
5 aug 2019
British tourists taken into police custody, Cyprus, July 2019
19-year-old's legal counsel says she was pressured by police, denied access to lawyer before purportedly confessing to fabricating accusations against 12 Israelis.
A British tourist said she was pressured to retract her rape allegations against 12 Israeli men by the Cyprus police after they threatened to arrest her friends on conspiracy charges, according to Justice Abroad, the organization providing legal assistance to the teenager's family.
Cyprus police released seven Israelis who were arrested on suspicion of gang raping of the 19-year-old woman last Sunday. The tourist was then arrested on suspicion of misleading authorities. All accusations against the group of 12 Israelis, five of whom were released two weeks ago, were dropped.
According to Justice Abroad, subsequent police reports stating that the tourist voluntarily recanted her allegations have been denied by the family. The organization cited family members as asserting that the teenager was taken to the police station while on medications, where she provided a further statement about the allegations. A police officer told her he believed she was lying and urged her to write a confession and that he would arrest her friends in Cyprus if she did not agree. She requested a lawyer and was denied, according to the organization.
The teenager then said "you have to be f***ing joking" and left the room crying, and was threatened upon her return to be charged with "swearing at a police officer," according to the Justice Abroad statement. She was then pressured to write a confession, which was dictated to her, against her will, and was told what to include and given a choice as to what reasons to give for making the allegations, the statement said. The teenager refused to sign the statement but was told that she would be arrested if she did not, according to the statement.
She was given another statement to sign but she refused, Justice Abroad said. According to the statement, there are text messages providing contemporaneous evidence of police threatening the arrest of the tourist's friends, and of her refusal to sign an additional statement.
"The family’s position is that the confession was obtained under oppression given the threats made to the teenager, that she was not cautioned, and that she was not given access to a lawyer as was her right under the Cypriot Constitution and European Convention on Human Rights," Justice Abroad wrote.
"Further, the teenager was not told that she could leave the Police station nor given the option of leaving at any point. It is also understood that unfortunately none of the proceedings at the Cypriot Police Station were recorded aurally or by video."
British tabloid newspaper The Sun earlier quoted the teenager's attorney as saying she had been pressured to make a confession and was not given the option to leave the police station.
Responding to Haaretz's inquiries on the matter, the Cyprus police denied the chain of events published by The Sun, calling it "unrealistic."
The police added the investigation into the DNA sample taken from the complainant's hotel room is still ongoing.
"The British tourist will appear before the court on Wednesday, where she can plead guilty or innocent [of falsely accusing the Israeli men]. Should we find the real video spread on social media [of her having sexual relations with some of the Israeli men], they would be suspected of distributing it. At the moment they are not suspects," the police said.
On Tuesday, the tourist was indicted for public nuisance, could be sentenced to up to one year in prison or ordered to pay a fine.
Attorney Nir Yaslovitzh, who represented four of the Israeli men involved in the affair, said on Monday "the complainant is yet again changing her version of events like a chameleon changing its colors. Based on my knowledge of the Cypriot authorities, she is clearly lying and the court will say the same," he said.
Cypriot media outlets reported the woman filed a false complaint because she was upset about being filmed while having consensual sex. Non-consensual documentation of sexual acts as well as its distribution is a criminal offense in Israel.
19-year-old's legal counsel says she was pressured by police, denied access to lawyer before purportedly confessing to fabricating accusations against 12 Israelis.
A British tourist said she was pressured to retract her rape allegations against 12 Israeli men by the Cyprus police after they threatened to arrest her friends on conspiracy charges, according to Justice Abroad, the organization providing legal assistance to the teenager's family.
Cyprus police released seven Israelis who were arrested on suspicion of gang raping of the 19-year-old woman last Sunday. The tourist was then arrested on suspicion of misleading authorities. All accusations against the group of 12 Israelis, five of whom were released two weeks ago, were dropped.
According to Justice Abroad, subsequent police reports stating that the tourist voluntarily recanted her allegations have been denied by the family. The organization cited family members as asserting that the teenager was taken to the police station while on medications, where she provided a further statement about the allegations. A police officer told her he believed she was lying and urged her to write a confession and that he would arrest her friends in Cyprus if she did not agree. She requested a lawyer and was denied, according to the organization.
The teenager then said "you have to be f***ing joking" and left the room crying, and was threatened upon her return to be charged with "swearing at a police officer," according to the Justice Abroad statement. She was then pressured to write a confession, which was dictated to her, against her will, and was told what to include and given a choice as to what reasons to give for making the allegations, the statement said. The teenager refused to sign the statement but was told that she would be arrested if she did not, according to the statement.
She was given another statement to sign but she refused, Justice Abroad said. According to the statement, there are text messages providing contemporaneous evidence of police threatening the arrest of the tourist's friends, and of her refusal to sign an additional statement.
"The family’s position is that the confession was obtained under oppression given the threats made to the teenager, that she was not cautioned, and that she was not given access to a lawyer as was her right under the Cypriot Constitution and European Convention on Human Rights," Justice Abroad wrote.
"Further, the teenager was not told that she could leave the Police station nor given the option of leaving at any point. It is also understood that unfortunately none of the proceedings at the Cypriot Police Station were recorded aurally or by video."
British tabloid newspaper The Sun earlier quoted the teenager's attorney as saying she had been pressured to make a confession and was not given the option to leave the police station.
Responding to Haaretz's inquiries on the matter, the Cyprus police denied the chain of events published by The Sun, calling it "unrealistic."
The police added the investigation into the DNA sample taken from the complainant's hotel room is still ongoing.
"The British tourist will appear before the court on Wednesday, where she can plead guilty or innocent [of falsely accusing the Israeli men]. Should we find the real video spread on social media [of her having sexual relations with some of the Israeli men], they would be suspected of distributing it. At the moment they are not suspects," the police said.
On Tuesday, the tourist was indicted for public nuisance, could be sentenced to up to one year in prison or ordered to pay a fine.
Attorney Nir Yaslovitzh, who represented four of the Israeli men involved in the affair, said on Monday "the complainant is yet again changing her version of events like a chameleon changing its colors. Based on my knowledge of the Cypriot authorities, she is clearly lying and the court will say the same," he said.
Cypriot media outlets reported the woman filed a false complaint because she was upset about being filmed while having consensual sex. Non-consensual documentation of sexual acts as well as its distribution is a criminal offense in Israel.
