US seeks extradition of two Israelis suspected in securities fraud scam
US seeks to Israeli authorities have worked in cooperation with FBI for months on case.
By BEN HARTMANUpdated: JULY 21, 2015 23:46Cyber hackers [illustrative](photo credit: REUTERS)
Israel Police have arrested two Israeli citizens suspected of involvement in a securities fraud scam, following a joint investigation led by the FBI, the police cleared for publication Tuesday night.Israel Police first reported the arrests in a message sent out to reporters on Tuesday, along with a stipulation that a gag order currently on the case prevents the publication of any details or the existence of the gag order. That restriction was partially lifted later Tuesday night after Bloomberg ran an article about the arrests.The Bloomberg report said that the arrests were part of a months-long investigation of a group of friends who met in college in Florida and are tied to the JP Morgan hack in 2011 and 2012, with suspects in Israel accused of security fraud for inflating the value of low-volume stocks.The Israel Police said Tuesday night that the FBI contacted them as part of their investigation and asked for assistance in probing the case, due to the involvement of Israelis. Following a collaborative investigation the two Israelis were arrested, and at the moment an extradition request filed by the FBI is pending.Israel Police said Tuesday night that more than 10 US law enforcement officers have been in Israel over the past few days working out of the cyber crimes unit headquarters in Lod.On Wednesday, morning the suspects are expected to appear for a remand extension at the Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court, police said.
![Cyber hackers [illustrative] (photo credit: REUTERS)](https://images.jpost.com/image/upload/q_auto/c_fill,g_faces:center,h_537,w_822/253020 "Cyber hackers [illustrative]")