Gov’t extradites man for ‘CEO identity theft’ scheme that netted €54m.
According to a Justice Ministry statement, David Sofer of Ashdod carried out his organized crime scheme between the years 2015 and 2017.
By YONAH JEREMY BOBInside the Jerusalem District Court(photo credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM/THE JERUSALEM POST)
Israel extradited a man to Austria on Wednesday for his involvement in perpetrating a “CEO identity theft” scheme that netted €54 million ($63.9m.) from Austrian companies before he was finally caught.According to a Justice Ministry statement, David Sofer of Ashdod carried out his organized crime scheme between the years 2015 and 2017.Sofer and other defendants were part of a scheme in which they infiltrated the email accounts of CEOs and their top aides in 18 different Austrian companies.They then used access to these accounts to send emails to employees of those companies with instructions to transfer significant funds to the bank accounts of straw companies for fictional transactions.These straw companies, which used fake identities and forged documents to open their accounts, then withdrew the funds for their own illegal use.The Jerusalem District Court has already ruled that Sofer was involved in establishing multiple straw companies in Slovakia.Sofer was arrested in February 2019, leading the Justice Ministry’s extradition department lawyer Yael Bitton to request his extradition.Though his extradition was approved by the court back in March, the Justice Ministry said that carrying out his extradition required complex coordination between Interpol, the police, the Prisons Service and the Health Ministry.Based on the timing and the mentioning of the Health Ministry, the implication was that the coronavirus crisis has made certain extraditions more difficult due to social distancing requirements and other issues.The statement said that “CEO identity theft” has transformed into a highly profitable business in recent years.
In addition, the ministry said that parallel extradition cases are ongoing to send approximately nine defendants to face similar charges in France and Norway.A number of other defendants have already been extradited to European countries recently for similar crimes.
