Police shut down giant con operation
Tel Aviv Police apprehends arrest 10 people on suspicion of conning American citizens out of $2 million
The Tel Aviv District Police Fraud Unit arrested 10 people on Tuesday, on suspicion of conning American citizens out of $2 million.
The suspects were charged with fraud, forgery, conspiracy to commit a crime and false representation.
The Tel Aviv District Police Fraud Unit has been conducting a widespread investigation into the alleged sting. During the course of the investigation, police officers have been able to trace the suspects' activities back to a Ramat Gan office, believed to be the base of operation.
The suspects allegedly called thousands of US citizens, most of them elderly, presented themselves as lawyers and said they were calling to inform them that they had won the lottery.
In order to collect the prize money, they told their marks, they would be required to pay $10,000 in taxes. The victims in most cases agreed to wire the money to a bank account set up by the con artist. The con was discovered after several of the victims pressed charges with their local police departments.
Those local investigations eventually led to the discovery of the Israeli connection, at which point, the Tel Aviv District Police became involved.
