The con man who sells homes that are not his and swindles people out of millions

Oshri Bezalel Azoulay has defrauded victims of millions of shekels, according to testimonies. He allegedly took homes from victims and forged documents, and an investigation by "The Con Men" exposes his methods. Adva Dadon, Main Edition Published: 11.06.26, 09:05

In brief: Oshri Bezalel Azoulay defrauded victims of millions of shekels. Azoulay swindled elderly people and people in distress by selling homes that were not his. Miriam from Afula lost her home and her car because of Azoulay’s actions. Yehuda, the owner of a lot in Netanya, claims Azoulay forged ownership documents. Malka from Tirat Carmel: "He simply stole my apartment and ruined my life." A News 12 investigator documented Azoulay offering properties that were not his.

Oshri Bezalel Azoulay is a baal teshuva who tends to appear in an ultra-Orthodox guise when the spirit moves him. He is married and the father of six children, and one of the biggest con men to have operated here. In total, he has swindled millions of shekels through repeated sales of apartments that were not his at all. Despite countless complaints filed against him with the police, he continues to harm people, including those in distress, the poor and the elderly. For years he has worn out his victims in court, while they continue to be ruined, and even when money is awarded in their favor, there is no one to enforce it. Now his victims have gathered the courage to speak and helped us reach him and expose him, in order to prevent the next victims and hope that justice will be done.

Miriam, 64, from Afula, lives modestly with her son Aviel. She also has a daughter with special needs. She is one of Azoulay’s victims. Her son Aviel described how it all began: "I went through a divorce process and needed help, and he was there. He offered cars, offered lawyers. Everything for free." Miriam added: "We thought an angel had come down from heaven. Exactly like that." After he bonded with them and won their trust, Azoulay offered them a deal that was impossible to refuse. According to him, he was building a luxury project in Netanya with an accessible garden apartment, which he would give Miriam in exchange for her home in Afula, a Netanya apartment worth much more. Miriam testified: "He showed us plans, showed us building permits. He was constantly calling and saying to me, 'Come sign this for me, come sign this for me.' He took me to Netanya, said, 'Here is this plan, the house will be yours.'" Azoulay lured Miriam out of her home and in return put her up in a hotel. She could not refuse it.

Miriam found herself losing her home and all her property for a dream Azoulay sold her. But no bulldozer ever rolled onto the land. The lot was not his at all. Yehuda, an engineer at a defense company, is the owner of the lot in Netanya and of the grandmother’s house built on it, the same lot on which Oshri supposedly was to build and where Miriam supposedly was to live. Yehuda said: "Oshri presented himself as a contractor. He offered me an amount that was a little above market price, on condition that he would give me half, and after a year he would give me the second half, until he started receiving money from potential buyers who would buy from him the apartments he would build. He paid a total of 2 million and 430 thousand, but not even with his own money, rather with bank money. From his own money he paid only 50,000 shekels." Today, Yehuda’s house and the lot around it are registered in Azoulay’s name. According to Yehuda, he did this by forging documents.

Oshri Azoulay did not waste time, and in the meantime rushed to sell Miriam’s apartment in Afula. Azoulay stops at nothing when he spots an opportunity to swindle. He saw that the car Miriam bought for a few thousand shekels through Azoulay’s mediation was also taken from her by fraud, without permission, using the spare key that remained with him. That was the same car she used to visit her daughter with special needs. Miriam said: "One morning I came, and the car was gone. I get here by bus, sometimes by four buses. What does she have in life? That car really made her happy."

Malka, a 58-year-old grandmother from Tirat Carmel, earns a modest living as an education aide at an elementary school. After a difficult event in her life, she too never imagined she would lose about 1 million shekels for an apartment Azoulay sold her, which was not his at all. Malka said: "He simply stole my apartment. I started asking what was going on. He started doing all kinds of things. He paid some initial payment, and then he פשוט did not pay the rest." Malka filed a complaint with the police. Tearfully outside the police station, she said: "A tall guy, wearing payot, and he ruined my life. I don’t remember when I last smiled. I have no life. I have a sick daughter at home. I have a grandson in Lebanon. I have a grandson who had his bar mitzvah at the beginning of the month. I didn’t have a single shekel to give him a gift."

We sent our investigator to meet Azoulay with a cover story. She told him she had received a large inheritance and was looking for an investment. He also offered us Yehuda’s property and land in Netanya, which, as noted, were not his at all. He did not complete payment to the owner, and it is at the center of legal proceedings. When we came to confront Oshri Azoulay, he surrounded himself with several men who tried to protect him, and in the end he fled on one of their motorcycles.

Response from Oshri Bezalel Azoulay through his attorney, Guy Bar: "This is an article commissioned by parties with whom I am in a legal dispute, in order to try to influence the outcome of those proceedings contrary to law. As for the claims: I purchased the apartments in Netanya, Haifa and Afula and sold them lawfully. I paid the full consideration for them in accordance with the agreements I signed. Regarding the elderly man whom I allegedly swindled, the claims of his daughter are completely denied. In fact, her father owes me money. His checks, in amounts totaling hundreds of thousands of shekels, bounced for lack of coverage. The documents proving everything were sent to 'The Con Men' editorial team. Regarding claims about my financial situation, it should be clarified that recently I went through a difficult period financially and fell into debt, but at no stage did I evade payment of my debts, and I will settle them in accordance with the recovery of my means."

Response from the Land Registration and Settlement of Rights Authority at the Justice Ministry: "In the absence of a specific suspicion of forgery or fraud, and in view of isolated acts of forgery compared with tens of thousands of registration actions every year, we are not required to carry out direct verification with property owners or lawyers who sign applications for ownership registration and cancellation of cautionary notices. However, we are constantly working to reduce acts of forgery, fraud and false registrations in the land registry. When suspicion arises that a lawyer is himself involved in fraud, the matter is investigated, and that is also what was done in the case you exposed, which we had not previously known about."

Response from Israel Police: "While legal proceedings in which the subject of your inquiry is involved are taking place in several courts, we continue to investigate the complaints filed against him, with the aim of getting to the truth."

Response from the Tax Authority: "When information is brought to the attention of the Tax Authority that raises suspicion of tax offenses, that information is thoroughly examined, and if necessary an investigation is opened. Due to the duty of confidentiality under the tax laws, and for intelligence and investigative considerations, the Tax Authority does not comment on specific investigations and information checks it conducts."

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