The District Court in Tel Aviv sentenced Michael (Mike) Ben Ari, who was convicted in one of the largest investor fraud cases in Israel, and sentenced him to eight years and nine months of actual imprisonment. In addition, he was given a suspended sentence of 12 months for three years. The period of detention from June 2022 until today will be deducted from the sentence.
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In sentencing, Judge Benny Sagi referred to the seriousness of Ben Ari’s actions, to the fact that most of the victims of the crime earned the money they invested, saved money for years and withdrew savings. “This is not a short-term fraudulent plan or one that was implemented during a crisis, but an operation for more than a decade, to live a comfortable life, to bring to his family, and to transfer to other investments… The accused did not fall into the situation, but conceived it, acted on it, with the ability to inspire trust. He deceived citizens and destroyed their lives.” Regarding the plea deal that limited the range of the punishment, it was determined that it weighs the defendant’s confession and the saving of public time, and takes into account the defendant’s personal data.
The judge added: “It is not possible to point to a large financial source that was discovered as a result of the defendant’s contribution, it is not a decisive contribution compared to the amounts of the copy he stole or in relation to the amounts recovered. Weight must also be given to the manner of cooperation (cooperation with the trustee on his assets – N.S.).”
Investor Marsha Zelinger, who was present at the hearing, said afterwards: “The judge understood that he is a danger to society. But he deserves to stay in prison for the rest of his life.” Another investor told Globes: “In the range that was supposed to be given to him, this is serious, but that he will be free for a few more years is a slap in the face for us. We will never see our funds back.”
Adv. Eitan Erez, who represents 745 investors with Adv. Mor Ben Shoshan, said after the discussion: It has been proven once again that the State of Israel is a paradise for fraudsters. We are satisfied that in the range between five and nine and a half years, the judge went almost to the upper end, but it is unfortunate that in Israel for such serious fraud offenses, amounting to 600 million shekels, the punishment is eight years and nine months, while in the US the punishment is between 50 and 100 year. The settlement stems from the Securities Authority’s failings, which did not prevent money smuggling and flight from the country.”
The prosecutor’s office stated after the verdict: “The state invested a lot of effort in locating Ben Ari – who fled the country after forging a passport and using another person’s identity – and extraditing him; as well as locating and seizing his assets worth tens of millions, which will be distributed among his clients. The verdict accepted the position of the prosecutor’s office in key points, and sent Those who were defrauded should be imprisoned behind bars, taking into account that Ben-Ari took responsibility and did not conduct a lengthy proof process. This is a message to any entrepreneur who believes that he can raise funds from the public without responsibility, without transparency and in a blatant deviation from the law.”
The case was handled by the lawyers Stav Ginat and Yossi Tzadok from the Taxation and Economics Attorney’s Office, and it was investigated by the Investigations, Intelligence and Trading Control Department of the Securities Authority.
NIS 350 million has not been returned to investors to date
Ben Ari was convicted of defrauding nearly 1,000 investors of hundreds of millions of shekels. He confessed at the beginning of the trial, as part of a plea deal, in which a punishment range of between 5 and 9.5 years was set.
The prosecutor’s office asked to impose the maximum sentence on him, 9.5 years, when his defense attorney, attorney Eitan Finkelstein, asked to settle for 5 years in prison.
Ben Ari was arrested in April 2021, released under restrictive conditions, and fled Israel about a month later using a fake passport of one of his investors. During the escape, he stayed in Serbia and Montenegro. He was arrested in June 2022 by the police of Bosnia and Herzegovina and extradited to Israel in December of the same year.
Ben Ari was convicted in March 2023 in a plea agreement in an amended indictment, of multiple offenses of receiving something fraudulently, forgery with the intent to receive something under aggravating circumstances, an offense under the Money Laundering Prohibition Law and forging a passport to leave Israel. The indictment describes making false representations to investors that led them to invest their money. Hundreds of millions of shekels were returned by him over the years. NIS 350 million has not been returned to investors to date.
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