Former Maccabi TA coach victimized in scam

Former Maccabi Tel Aviv coach Pini Gershon is one of several people who fell prey to a conman who bilked unsuspecting buyers out of hundreds of thousands of shekels on bogus real estate deals, Tel Aviv police confirmed on Thursday.

Gershon, who currently serves as head of Hapoel Holon’s management, was one of four people who complained to police that they had signed contracts and paid thousands of shekels to an agent who promised to secure them residential properties in development projects going up in the Tel Aviv area.

Police said all of the contracts were counterfeited and the victims quickly found out that their investments were worthless.

The suspect, Moshe Ezra, 50, is a Tel Aviv-based real estate agent with years of experience in a well-known business that had a solid reputation, police said. While an official with the Tel Aviv district police said they are unsure why an established businessman would carry out such a scam, they are examining the possibility that he had fallen into some sort of debt recently. They added that Ezra is not known to have any connection to organized crime.

On Thursday afternoon officers from the anti-fraud division arrested Ezra, who could face charges of fraud and forgery, among others.

Police said they believe that there could be more investors who fell victim to the scam, and have called on members of the public to come forward if they know of such cases.