Former Heftsiba CEO convicted on all 9 charges against him; victims of collapse hurl abuse in court.
By DAN IZENBERGBoaz Yona in court 224.88(photo credit: Ariel Jerozolimski)
In a restrained but impassioned speech, his first public statement since the collapse of his construction company, Hefziba, last year, Boaz Yona apologized on Monday to his customers who suffered as a result of the bankruptcy.
"At the beginning of my statement, I would like to apologize," said Yona, standing in front of the courtroom in Jerusalem District Court, reading from a prepared text.
The court had convened to hear the arguments of the state and Yona's lawyer, Ya'ir Golan, in favor of the plea bargain the two sides had reached. According to the agreement, which the court has yet to approve, Yona will serve seven years in jail, will give victims of the company's collapse NIS 4 million and will not be able to work as a contractor for the rest of his life.
"My strong desire to prevent the collapse of the company with my body, my soul and by any other means and at any price stemmed from my feelings of obligation towards my customers, my employees, the sub-contractors and the investors," said Yona. "Looking back, I see that these desires and feelings led me to commit crimes."
Yona said he had not been trying to escape from Israel when he went abroad amid rumors of the company's collapse last July. "The Hefziba Group collapsed while I was abroad, where I was trying to sell properties in order to inject cash into the company. When I saw the media lynch, the meetings of the home buyers and what awaited me when I returned, I naturally went into a state of confusion, dizziness and anxiety.
"I didn't know what to do. The disappointment, the sense of failure and shame, were stronger than any rational decision I should have made, which was to return immediately to Israel. However, it was clear to me that I would return to pay for my crimes and I have done so. I am sorry and pained that I committed these crimes. I in no way justify my actions and I accept full responsibility and express regret and I am ready to continue accepting my punishment."
Yona's speech marked the dramatic end of a long day which began when he pled guilty to the charges against him and was formally convicted by Judge Moshe Ravid. The charges included false entry into the documents of a corporate body in aggravated circumstances, fraud in aggravated circumstances, forgery, money laundering, violations of the Stock Market Shares Law and other crimes.
At the beginning of the proceedings, Ravid had insisted on hearing from the special receiver appointed to deal with the collapse of Hefziba, attorney Yitzhak Molcho, and the Custodian-General, Shlomo Shahar.
According to Molcho, only 50 to 100 of the 4,500 families affected by the Hefziba collapse are considered to be hard-hit victims. They have been ordered to pay an extra NIS 180,000 to NIS 200,000 to salvage their homes. Molcho added that these families did not have the money.
According to Molcho, "Altogether, we are dealing with 4,650 apartments. The arrangement we made is not one that makes it easy for the purchasers to obtain their homes. It is one in which every purchaser must contribute and make some payments over again. But for most of the purchasers, the extra sum is not large."
According to the settlement package arranged by the special receiver, the banks will pay 70 percent of the money which purchasers paid by check to Hefziba but which were not guaranteed by the banks due to Hefziba's duplicity. The purchasers themselves have to pay the other 30%. All told, said, Molcho, the amount of money that purchasers have failed to come up with is NIS 15m. - NIS 17 m.
According to the plea bargain, the NIS 4 m. which Yona's friends and family have already raised and which is included in the plea bargain sentence recommendation will go to help out the hardest hit victims.
Yona's lawyer, Golan, pleaded with the court to accept the plea bargain. "I have not come to defend Yona as much as to punish him," Golan told Ravid. "The starting point is not that we are asking the court to go easy on the defendant but to punish him in a very harsh manner. This is a significant and grave jail sentence which will serve as a warning sign for other builders."
But Golan stressed that the seven-year jail sentence was par for the course for economic crimes. On the other hand, the difference between Yona and others convicted of such crimes was that while they took the money for themselves, he had not taken a penny. In fact, the collapse of Hefziba had left him penniless.
"Very few people have conducted themselves like Yona," said Golan. "In the court's first session, he pleads guilty and says he is ready to be punished. He has been cooperative and provided substantial help [to the police and other investigative branches and to the special receiver] from the moment he landed in Israel. He has answered every question."
Had he not cooperated, added Golan, the trial could have lasted 10 years.
According to Golan, Yona has paid "a heavy and destructive price [for the failure of the company,] even though he did not act for one minute from motives of greed in order to get rich at the expense of others. His entire world has collapsed as a result of his economic failure."
Golan's defense and Yona's apology did not convince a handful of bitter home buyers who attended the hearing and who, during a recess, shouted at Yona, "Robber, thief and son of a thief. Where is all the money you stashed away in Romania [where Yona was originally went after leaving Israel.]"
During this harangue, Yona sat hunched over a table covering his face with one arm.
When he spoke at the end of the hearing, Yona addressed these victims of the collapse. "I look from here at the eyes of the victims and say to you, I failed, I erred, I apologize and ask your forgiveness. Above all, I ask your forgiveness. We will solve the problems as we have solved them up until today. We will continue to work for every single homeowner. I swear that this is what we will do."
Ravid said he would hand down his decision on Yona's sentence on November 19.
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