Police arrest attorney who they say swiped millions of shekels.
By BEN HARTMANShekel money bills(photo credit: REUTERS)
An attorney based in central Israel has been arrested on suspicion of bilking several million shekels from clients in recent years, Central District police announced Wednesday.The attorney, Yitzhak Cohen, specializes in real estate and property cases. According to police he is suspected of taking money given to him by his clients to process transactions and keeping the funds for himself.Police launched an investigation after they received several complaints from clients alleging that the attorney took their money. The first complaint was received on September 2.In total, six clients came forward to police, fewer than the 10 reported in the Hebrew press on Wednesday.The Rishon Lezion Magistrate’s Court extended Cohen’s remand on Wednesday by four days, less than the eight police requested in order to gather more evidence for an indictment.The investigation went public on Wednesday a little over a month after a prominent Jerusalem lawyer was arrested for stealing an estimated NIS 14 million from clients.Like Cohen, attorney Yaakov Fink specialized in real estate law.Fink signed a deal with prosecutors under which he will only serve five years incarceration and be required to repay his clients.Before his arrest, Fink counted among his clients the Israel Postal Company, the Israel Electric Corporation, the Jewish National Fund and thousands of Jerusalem home-owners.
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