Israel Perry
Photo: Gil Yohanan
Lawyer who defrauded Holocaust survivors seeks new hearing
Israel Perry, jailed for 10 years after being found guilty of large scale embezzlement petitions Supreme Court for new hearing, cites court used broad interpretation of offenses in his case
Attorney Israel Perry, who was sentenced to a 10-year prison term after being convicted of multiple counts of fraud, appealed to the Supreme Court Sunday for yet another hearing in his case, citing the court had unduly applied a broad interpretation to the offenses against him.
Perry was convicted of stealing millions from Holocaust survivors. He was found guilty of aggravated fraud, embezzlement, obstruction of justice and violation of insurance laws in October of 2007, after a six-year trial. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison and ordered to pay a $5.4 million fine.
Perry's attorneys claimed that the broad interpretation given by the court to the charge of fraud brought against their client resulted in the "absurd" decision to convict him, "even though nothing was actually stolen and no one was harmed."
"Can a court substantiate a conviction on the controversial interpretation of (financial) agreements, which goes completely against the interpretation given to the very same documents by the Civil Court, which stated that (Perry) met every obligation to his clients?" asked the defense in its petition.
The alleged victims, added the defense, in fact profited millions from their association with Perry, without having to invest a single penny or bearing any risk.
