Psychologist Accused of Fraudulent Diagnoses Costing State $3.4 Million

A psychologist, Yosef Henanel, faces charges for allegedly forging dozens of student diagnoses, which the state claims led the Ministry of Education to allocate NIS 12.5 million (approximately $3.4 million) to educational institutions. Henanel is also accused of evading taxes on NIS 1.6 million in income between 2012 and 2021, representing payments received for these diagnoses.

According to the indictment, Henanel is not a certified "expert psychologist" and had not even begun the required internship for that designation. Professionals not recognized as expert psychologists are not authorized to conduct diagnostic assessments or provide expert opinions. Despite this, Henanel allegedly performed 131 diagnoses during the specified years, misleading the state, parents, and children into believing he was qualified.

These assessments, which included recommendations for academic accommodations, were conducted both through an assessment institute and privately. The state asserts that in some instances, certified expert psychologists signed off on Henanel's diagnoses after conducting their own reviews, even though he was not legally permitted to perform them. In other cases, Henanel is accused of forging the signatures of these experts.

Among the psychologists whose signatures were allegedly forged or who signed off on Henanel's work are Gabriela Wishlitski, Talia Titton, Sergey Beilin, Avi Suissa, Iris Ofek, and the late Dr. Yona Ben-Yaakov. Henanel also allegedly forged the signature of Viktor Halperin. The indictment states Henanel charged NIS 2,000 per diagnosis.

The state contends that Henanel defrauded the Ministry of Education, educational institutions that acted on invalid diagnoses, and the students and their parents. He is charged with numerous counts of document forgery with intent to gain, use of forged documents, obtaining benefits by fraud, and violations of the Psychologists Law. Additionally, he faces serious tax offenses.