Ido Samuel (archives)
Broker Ido Samuel accused of stealing millions
Charge sheet states, investors transferred NIS 5 million to Samuel due to his misrepresentations; he invested money in high-risk futures options, lost entire sum
The Tel Aviv Prosecutor's Office has filed an indictment with the Tel Aviv District Court against broker Ido Samuel and his partner Yossi Shoval, Calcalist reported Thursday.
The charge sheet addresses two affairs: Buybroker Ltd, in which both Samuel and Shoval are charged; and Brokertov, in which only Samuel is charged.
According to the indictment, the two well-known figures in the capital market made promises to investors, intentionally deceiving them, saying that their money would be invested in risk-free channels and that it would make reasonable profits. The two transferred guarantees to some of the victims, and as a result of the misrepresentations, the victims transferred their money to Samuel, Shoval and Buybroker's accounts.
According to the charge sheet, as a result of the misrepresentations and the trust the clients had in Shoval and Samuel, clients transferred NIS 1.235 million (about $326,500) to the two brokers, and to Buybroker, on multiple occasions through bank transfers, checks and cash.
The indictment claims that the two essentially stole the money from investors and channeled it to themselves, to Buybroker and to third parties.
The indictment states that Samuel, who does not have a legal consultancy license in accordance with the Investment Consultation Arrangement Law, was the sole owner of Brokertov Ltd and founded five hedge funds, through which the victims, recruited through his misrepresentations, invested their money in the capital market.
Charged with fraud and theft
According to the indictment, the victims transferred NIS 5,309,650 ($1,393,520) to Samuel on multiple occasions through bank transfers, checks and cash. The charge sheet states that despite his written and oral promises to investors that he would restrict himself to losses that would not exceed 20%, Samuel invested their money in futures options that constitute high-risk investments and lost all of the investors' money.
The indictment also states that in order to deceive his victims, he provided information over the phone, as well as through official Brokertov monthly reports and emails, stating that their investments were profitable, while in fact their money had been lost, sometimes just days after it was transferred to the hedge funds.
Samuel is charged with receiving money fraudulently (multiple charges), theft (multiple charges), conspiracy to commit a crime (multiple charges), false registry on corporate papers (multiple charges) and making threats. Shoval is accused of receiving frauds in aggravated circumstances (multiple charges), theft (multiple charges) and conspiracy to commit a crime (multiple charges).
The indictment was filed by Attorney Nir Biton.
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