First Indictment Filed in Russian-Speaking Elder Fraud Scheme

Israel Police have filed the first indictment in a fraud case dubbed the “Russian scam,” which is believed to have brought in hundreds of thousands of shekels for those involved. The investigation, led by the Samaria District’s anti-crime unit, began in early May after a woman in her 70s from Ariel reported receiving a call from two Russian-speaking men posing as Tax Authority and National Insurance Institute representatives.

According to the complaint, the suspects pressured the woman into believing she owed money to the authorities and would face trouble with the state if she did not immediately settle the supposed debt. She later handed a taxi-arriving courier 82,000 shekels in cash and a large amount of gold jewelry from her home. Police say the same method targeted elderly women of former Soviet Union origin, with suspects arranging home visits after the intimidation calls and collecting cash and jewelry for a fictitious “debt repayment.”

After the first report, investigators opened a covert operation, widened the probe across central Israel, and used advanced technological and signal-intelligence tools to identify additional victims and the people behind the scheme. Authorities say family members usually discovered the fraud only after the thieves had already left and then filed complaints.

At the end of May, police arrested two suspects, including the main defendant and a man in his 20s from Ariel. Mobile phones seized at the arrest allegedly contained evidence, including images of the cash taken from victims and other property. During questioning, the main suspect reenacted how he collected the packages as a “courier” and led investigators to a jewelry shop in Ramat Gan where he had sold the stolen gold. He was questioned on suspicion of theft, extortion by threats, exploitation, impersonation, and aggravated fraud, admitted it was a scam, but said he acted because of financial distress and debts to the loan shark market. When asked what the victims had in common, he said, “They are all elderly Russians, to your question there was no Moroccan grandmother there.” The Central District Prosecutor’s Office has now filed the first indictment, while the investigation into other alleged participants continues.