Tel Aviv Psychologist Charged with Forging Signatures, Falsifying 131 Diagnoses
The State Prosecutor's Office has filed an indictment against Yosef Henanel, a 73-year-old psychologist from Tel Aviv, for allegedly conducting 131 psychological assessments without proper certification, forging the signatures of certified specialists, and committing fraud and tax offenses. Henanel, who is registered with the psychologists' board but lacks specialist qualifications, is accused of presenting himself as authorized to perform these diagnoses to patients, parents, and state authorities.
According to the indictment, Henanel claimed his assessments met legal requirements, despite not being a specialist, not being in active training, and not being authorized to conduct or sign these evaluations. In some instances, he allegedly submitted diagnoses for review and signature by specialists without authorization. In other cases, after working with specialists, he forged their signatures without their knowledge, making it appear as though the diagnoses were reviewed and approved by them. He is charged with 72 counts of signature forgery and 131 instances of signing diagnoses without authority.
The diagnoses were provided to parents, diagnostic clinics, and educational institutions, and were submitted to the Ministry of Education to secure educational accommodations and funding. Henanel reportedly charged approximately 2,000 shekels per assessment. Based on these fraudulent diagnoses, the Ministry of Education allocated an estimated 12.5 million shekels in support funds to the students' educational institutions.
Furthermore, the indictment alleges that between 2012 and 2021, Henanel failed to report approximately 1.55 million shekels in income to the Tax Authority, submitting false reports of no income while receiving earnings as both an employee and self-employed individual. He is also accused of failing to maintain proper accounting records. The investigation was a joint effort by the Jerusalem District Fraud Unit of the Israel Police and tax investigators.
