Tax fraud schemes steal millions

Haaretz JPost YNet NYTimes

The police arrested a number of Israelis and Americans who allegedly defrauded U.S. tax authorities, Army Radio reported on Monday.

The suspects are alleged to have masterminded a scheme whereby they fraudulently obtained tax refunds totaling tens of millions of dollars which were then transferred to various bank accounts in Israel.

A hearing is scheduled for Monday afternoon in the Tel Aviv Magistrate's Court, where the suspects will be arraigned.

The affair follows a similar case last month in which 11 Israelis were arrested for allegedly swindling elderly Americans out of more than $25 million in a telemarketing sting.

Prosecutors sought court approval to extradite the 11 people who are wanted in the United States.

Criminal indictments unsealed in a district court in Manhattan last month accuse 12 people of phoning victims in the United States and falsely telling them they had won an international lottery.[...]