Registered Psychologist Charged with Fraudulent Diagnoses and Forgery
Jerusalem's Magistrate Court has indicted 73-year-old Yosef Hananel from Tel Aviv, who was registered as a psychologist but lacked the necessary specialist qualifications. He is accused of conducting 131 psychological diagnostic assessments without proper authorization, forging the signatures of certified specialists, defrauding clients, and committing tax offenses.
Hananel allegedly presented himself to patients, parents, and government bodies as a qualified specialist, claiming his assessments met legal standards. However, he was not a certified specialist, had not completed the required training, and was not legally permitted to conduct such evaluations or sign their reports. In some instances, he submitted assessments to specialists for review and signature, despite his own lack of authority.
After specialists ceased their collaboration, Hananel began forging their signatures without their knowledge, creating the false impression that the reports had been verified and approved. In total, he faces charges for 72 counts of signature forgery and 131 counts of signing diagnostic reports without authorization. These reports were provided to parents, diagnostic centers, educational institutions, and the Ministry of Education to secure special learning accommodations and state funding for student support.
According to the indictment, Hananel charged approximately 2,000 shekels per diagnostic assessment. Based on the data he provided, the Ministry of Education allocated about 12.5 million shekels in additional funding to schools attended by students who underwent his evaluations.
Furthermore, Hananel is accused of tax evasion. Between 2012 and 2021, he allegedly failed to report income totaling approximately 1.55 million shekels. He submitted false tax returns claiming no income, despite earning money as both an employee and a private contractor, and did not maintain proper accounting records.
Hananel faces multiple charges, including aggravated fraud, using forged documents, aggravated deception, violations of the Psychologists Law, intentional income concealment, and other offenses.
