The former Sports Illustrated swimsuit cover model, now a popular TV personality in Israel, had pleaded guilty to tax offenses under a plea bargain that also included her mother and agent.
By REUTERSBar Rafaeli arrives to court on September 13, 2020..(photo credit: AVSHALOM SASSONI)
Israeli supermodel Bar Refaeli was sentenced on Sunday to nine months of community service, and her mother was given 16 months in jail, for tax evasion on earnings from her international career.The former Sports Illustrated swimsuit model, now a popular TV personality in Israel, had pleaded guilty to tax offenses under a plea bargain that also included her mother and agent, Tzipi Refaeli.The Israel Tax Authority accused the two of evading paying taxes on income of about $7.2 million.Security for their court appearance on Sunday was tight, with barricades in the lobby marking a path to an elevator that took them to the courtroom.“We love you Bar,” one woman shouted as the model and her mother, both wearing protective face masks against the novel coronavirus,silently walked past cameras and reporters.Defense attorneys had argued that Bar Refaeli, a paparazzi favorite during a romantic relationship with Hollywood actor Leonardo DiCaprio, did not have to declare worldwide income to Israeli tax authorities from 2009-2012.Refaeli, now 35 and a mother of three and married to an Israeli businessman, had contended she was living overseas at the time and exempt from any Israeli tax bills.But prosecutors said she had been living in luxury homes in Israel leased by her mother and other relatives to hide her residency status.A Courts Administration statement said Bar was assigned provisionally to perform community service, five days a week, at a center near Tel Aviv for people with physical disabilities. Her 65-year-old mother was due to begin her jail term on September 21.They were fined NIS 2.5m. ($722,460) each, in addition to taxes owed. They would likely end up paying authorities about NIS 25m. ($7.2m.), including interest charges, Haaretz reported.
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