Interpol and Israeli, French police expose mass Israeli fraud
The suspect is a 42-year-old from Tel Aviv who holds both Israeli and French citizenship.
By TOBIAS SIEGALCommander of the Tel Aviv Police Fraud Unit chief superintendent Kobi Gabli (Credit: Police Spokesperson)
A French-Israeli resident of Tel Aviv is suspected of defrauding French senior citizens for millions by impersonating French law enforcement and legal authorities, the police said in a statement.He was arrested on Tuesday following a covert investigation that spanned several months and included a joint operation by the Israel Police's Interpol Department, who worked alongside French law enforcement to expose the scope of the scam. The suspect, a 42-year-old from Tel Aviv who holds both Israeli and French citizenship, would ask his victims to send over funds in order to receive funds stolen from them in a previous fraud.The investigation began a few months ago, after French law enforcement turned to the Israel Police through their representative in Europe and raised concerns of large-scale online frauds against French citizens that supposedly originated in Israel.A covert investigation was launched to expose the suspect's identity and to follow their movements in order to gather the necessary evidence. The investigation turned overt on Tuesday, as detectives arrested the suspect in Tel Aviv and searched his house, where they found seven cellphones, laptops, relevant documents, various credit cards, checkbooks and more than NIS 3 million in cash in several currencies.The suspect's arrest was extended by seven days, until November 17, so the police can complete their investigation.