Criminal Lawyer Indicted for Extortion and Threats Over Unpaid Loan

A criminal lawyer from central Israel in his 50s has been indicted for extortion by threats after pressuring a former client to repay tens of thousands of shekels he had borrowed and failed to return. The lawyer, who has an independent practice representing suspects in criminal cases, was arrested on July 25 and is under a gag order. According to the indictment filed by the Central District Prosecutor's Office, the lawyer lent about 50,000 shekels in cash to his former client during 2025, and a relative of the lawyer lent an additional 20,000 shekels. The borrower repaid only about 30,000 shekels, leaving debts to both the lawyer and his relative.

When the borrower failed to repay the loans, the lawyer began sending threatening text and voice messages via WhatsApp in July, including explicit insults and warnings that "some guys" would visit the borrower's home. The borrower also sent threatening messages to the lawyer's relative, escalating tensions. The lawyer then enlisted two other individuals to go to the borrower's house to intimidate him into repaying the debt. The visitors arrived while the borrower's nine-year-old son was home, but the borrower, seeing them on security cameras, called the police, who arrived shortly after and the visitors left.

The lawyer continued sending threatening messages, stating he was not afraid and warning the borrower that he would eventually be forced to meet for a "conversation." The borrower filed a police complaint, leading to the lawyer's arrest and investigation by Kiryat Malachi police. Initially, the lawyer claimed the visit was to check on the borrower's mental state but later admitted it was related to the threats. Prosecutors requested to keep him in custody until the end of proceedings, citing the lawyer's intensive and brazen actions, including sending multiple threatening messages over several days and sending people to the borrower's home to intimidate him. The court extended his detention until the following Wednesday, noting the risk of obstruction of justice as the two individuals sent to the borrower's home have not yet been located.