The District Court sentenced the defendant to 5 years in prison, conditional sentences and compensation for each of the complainants, in various amounts. The defendant's appeal against the severity of the sentence was rejected by the Supreme Court in light of the appellant's withdrawal from it [see Criminal Appeal 2297/20 Avraham Weizmann v. State of Israel (January 5, 2021)]. In contrast to our case, the defendant is not a lawyer by profession and the parties reached a term arrangement in which the accuser limited herself to the sentence.
- Criminal Case (Tel Aviv District) 23999-01-14 State of Israel v. Yaakov Hai Numa (15.6.14) - The defendant, while bankrupt, committed a scheme of fraud and economic exploitation of an elderly woman and was convicted of offenses of fraudulent receipt under aggravated circumstances (multiple offenses), offenses of the Bankruptcy Ordinance, perjury oath and obstruction of justice. In a systematic and ongoing series of acts, the defendant fraudulently received a total sum of approximately ILS 760,000. The District Court ruled that the appropriate punishment range for the offenses of fraudulent receipt under aggravated circumstances ranged from 4-7 years in prison and sentenced the defendant, who suffers from a serious and rare medical condition, 5 years in prison, three suspended sentences, compensation to the complainant in the amount of ILS 760,000, and the sale of his car for the benefit of compensation. The defendant has a criminal record (see Criminal Appeal 5834/14 Yaakov Numa v. State of Israel (6 July 2015), his appeal was dismissed after he withdrew it on the court's recommendation). Unlike in our case, the defendant is not a lawyer, he is a bankrupt who committed a series of serious offenses against one elderly complainant.
- Criminal Case (Shalom Tiberias) 21870-01-14 State of Israel v. Vaknin (September 11, 2014) - The defendant was convicted of offenses of forgery, theft of debit cards, fraudulent receipt under aggravated circumstances, and impersonation of another person. The defendant fraudulently received funds in the sum of more than ILS 100,000 (he also attached a file in which he was convicted of fraudulently receiving something by staying in a B&B and not paying for it). The court set a punishment range ranging from 20 months imprisonment to 6 years in prison and imposed on the defendant 5 years in prison. The defendant withdrew his appeal regarding the actual imprisonment, on the recommendation of the court [Criminal Appeal (District Neg.) 38274-10-14 Vaknin v. State of Israel (December 2, 2014)].
- Criminal Case (Jerusalem District) 44413-01-17 State of Israel v. Gazit (January 11, 2018) - The defendant was convicted of two counts of fraudulent receipt under aggravated circumstances, forgery under aggravated circumstances with intent to receive something, use of a forged document, fraud and breach of trust in a corporation, and the offense of false information or false output. The defendant fraudulently received under aggravated circumstances the sum of ILS 2.6 million and stole the sum of approximately ILS 690,000. He was also convicted of committing additional offenses. The court set a punishment range of 5-7 years in prison and sentenced him to 56 months in prison. His appeal was rejected after he retracted his appeal [see Criminal Appeal 1002/18 Uriah Gazit v. State of Israel (December 6, 2018)]. Unlike in our case, the defendant is not a lawyer by profession and although he received money fraudulently in a higher amount than in our case, he was convicted on two charges.
- Criminal Case (Shalom Ramla) 17120-09-22 State of Israel v. Governor (April 23, 2025) (hereinafter: "Governor's Case") - The defendant was convicted, according to her confession, of the facts of the indictment, which holds 15 charges for offenses of fraudulent receipt of something under aggravated circumstances, theft by an authorized person, forgery with the intention of receiving something under aggravated circumstances, omission of income, false bookkeeping, and fraud, cunning and subterfuge. The defendant committed fraudulent offenses under aggravated circumstances, taking advantage of her profession as a lawyer and accessing her clients' money that was deposited in her accounts by virtue of her position. The offenses in her case were committed between the years 2017-2020, and the total amount of money she stole from her clients was ILS 1,826,875. In addition, it did not pay income tax for a turnover of transactions that amounted to approximately ILS 1,776,875.
The defendant committed the offenses while taking advantage of her profession as a lawyer and used her clients' money that was deposited in her accounts by virtue of her role as a representative, while she, in their confidence, stole their money and dumped it into her pocket and for her personal benefit. The defendant also breached the trust of the banks, acted boldly when she made false representations, forged documents, and filed fictitious applications using her hat as a lawyer. The defendant acted cunning and fraudulently even towards the lawyers of the other party to the transaction, when she presented them with false representations of their trust. Not only did her actions cause real harm to the lawyers' public, their image, the reputation of the profession and the legal system, but also to the public's trust as a whole. The defendant even deceived the tax authorities, submitted false reports, all with the intention of evading the payment of her unreported income tax.