Bedouin Man Charged with Fraud for Illegally Receiving Hundreds of Thousands of Shekels

The Southern District Prosecutor's Office has indicted a 50-year-old Bedouin man from the Negev region on charges of fraud and bigamy. The man is suspected of illegally obtaining hundreds of thousands of shekels by concealing his multiple marriages from the National Insurance Institute (Bituah Leumi).

According to the investigation, which involved the Southern District police and utilized documents from the Sharia court, the accused married for the first time about 30 years ago, fathering 12 children. Approximately 20 years ago, he entered a second marriage without registering it with the state, and about five years ago, he married a third time. He presented his wives as civil partners to illegally claim social benefits to which he was not entitled.

The case has been transferred to the Beersheba Magistrate's Court, and prosecutors are seeking a real prison sentence for the defendant. This indictment is part of a broader crackdown by Israeli authorities on financial fraud. Previously, a joint operation by the police, Bituah Leumi, and the Population and Immigration Authority halted payments to hundreds of individuals who provided false information, saving the state budget tens of millions of shekels.