Ruth Basson at her remand extension
Photo: Ofer Meir
Bank clerks suspected of defrauding Holocaust survivor
Investment advisor and her manager took advantage of a 88-year-old woman, extracting some NIS 1 million from her and convincing her to add them to her will.
An investment advisor and a department manager at the First International Bank of Israel's Jerusalem branch were arrested on suspicion they took advantage of a childless 88-year-old Holocaust survivor and extracted some NIS 1 million from her.
The two are also suspected of convincing the elderly woman to change her will and include the investment advisor as one of the beneficiaries.
Investment advisor Ruth Basson at her remand extension (Photo: Alex Kolomoisky)
They claimed in their investigation that the woman transferred her money to them out of her own free will.
The Holocaust survivor had an investments account in the bank's Jerusalem branch, which was how the two suspects - Ruth Basson, 57, and her department manager Haim Siso, 64 - had allegedly learned that she had funds no living relatives.
Basson and Siso have allegedly developed a relationship with the Holocaust survivor and exerted pressure on her to transfer money to them, all the while lying to her and saying the money was meant to fund treatments for their sick children.
Police started investigating the case when the elderly woman's caretaker noticed the woman was distressed when the two bank employees came to visit her at the hospital after she fell down.
The caretaker reported her suspicions to the social worker at the Hod Jerusalem elderly home in which the woman live.
"The caretaker noticed that a lot of money was taken out of the elderly woman's bank account over the past few years," said Moshe Gadot, the deputy director of the Hod Jerusalem home.
Bank manager Haim Siso at his remand extension (Photo: Alex Kolomoisky)
"The elderly woman would not tell us where the money went. At the same time she told our social worker that she wants to add new beneficiaries to her will. She's childless and doesn't have a family and the social worker found it very odd. The woman told her caretaker that for years now the two have been asking for money from her under different pretexts - saying their children are sick, they need to undergo operations, ect."
"They told her they are taking care of her money and that thanks to them she made a profit on her investments," the social worker said. "She felt like she couldn't refuse them. They told her what sum to write in her checks and she did."
The investigation found that the elderly woman transferred most of the money to the two bank employees via checks, and some of it in cash. Some of the checks were cashed by money changers while others were cashed by a third party.
A search of Basson's home found NIS 450,000, most of it in checks from the elderly woman which bear her signature. Basson admitted to have received NIS 700,000 from the Holocaust survivor, but claimed it was done out of the woman's own free will as a thank you for the emotional support Basson provided her with.
Basson and Siso were brought in front of a judge at the Jerusalem Magistrate's Court on Tuesday on charges of exploitation and fraud. Basson's remand was extended by two days while Siso was sent on a four-day house arrest.
Attorney Yair Golan, who represents Basson, said: "According to her version, the elderly woman asked to transfer the money to her out of her own free will. The suspect asked for authorization from her manager and he granted it."
Attorney Roey Brauner, who represents Siso, said: "He has nothing to do with the allegations attributed to him. The truth will come out and it'll turn out this was a storm in a teacup."
