Ex-Inmate Behind ‘The Con Artists’ Scam Gets 10-Year Sentence

A year after an N12 investigation exposed his scheme, a Ramla court sentenced Haim Yosef Avitan to 10 years in prison. Deputy President of the Ramla and Rishon LeZion Magistrate’s Court Dorit Saban-Noy handed down the sentence after finding that Avitan had defrauded dozens of businesses, farmers, and nonprofit organizations of more than 3 million shekels.

The article says Avitan had been released from prison shortly before the war, and now he will return to a prison cell. The earlier report said he had cheated dozens of victims of about 3 million shekels by exploiting the name of war evacuees.

The story was published on June 14, 2026, at 13:05 by Adva Dadon on N12. One victim was quoted saying of Avitan, “He is a thief, a conman, I cannot stand seeing him.”