Man pretends to be National Insurance agent, swindles NIS 1.25 million

Iyad Zoabi allegedly convinced taxpayers to file tax claims with him in the form of transferring money and goods, worth approximately NIS 1,270,000.

Illustrative photo of Israeli money (photo credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM)
Illustrative photo of Israeli money
(photo credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM)
Israel's Northern District Attorney's Office filed criminal charges against Iyad Zoabi, 48, from Kfar Sulam, who was accused of swindling NIS 1.25 from Israeli taxpayers after pretending to be an agent from the National Insurance Institute.
According to the indictment, Zoabi allegedly impersonated an employee of the National Insurance Institute in the city of Afula and in other areas of Israel's Northern District from 2016 to 2021, where he assured complainants that he would help them file tax claims.
In reality, Zoabi allegedly convinced taxpayers to file tax claims with him in the form of transferring money and good, approximating some NIS 1,270,000.
 
Zoabi also allegedly charged a fee to submit claims, with taxpayers expecting to receive the money owed to them in return from the National Insurance Institute. Similarly, Zoabi allegedly used the credit card details transferred to him in order to purchase furniture for his house.
"The language of the defendant's plots requires that he be left in actual detention, so that he does not again deceive those in need of the National Insurance Institute services," said prosecutor Amit Perla.
The defendant has provided financial compensation to some of the victims, at a total of NIS 251,000.