Israeli woman, 26, charged with grifting $1m from Florida husband, 77

TAMPA, Florida — A newly married 26-year-old woman has been arrested on charges alleging she tried to cash almost $1 million in checks from her 77-year-old husband’s account.

Lin Helena Halfon, originally from Israel, was arrested earlier this month at Tampa International Airport. She is facing charges of money laundering, organized fraud and exploitation of an elderly person. During her first court appearance, a judge set her bail at $1 million.

The Tampa Bay Times reported that when her husband, Tampa businessman Richard Rappaport, was notified by investigators about what his wife was doing, he said wanted to give his wife the benefit of the doubt, according to a warrant affidavit.

He said he didn’t want her to be deported to her native Israel. Halfon told investigators she had mailed the checks to her sister in Israel after a fight with Rappoport, but was having them sent back, according to the Tampa Bay Times.

Police were originally tipped off about the suspected fraud by an Amscot employee in Tampa who refused to cash the checks. Eventually, two checks worth about $666,000 together were cashed by an Orlando man in New Jersey.

Asked later if he felt he was the victim of fraud and theft, Rappaport told investigators, “yes,” according to the arrest warrant.

Halfon and Rappaport were married in August in Sarasota. Both Rappaport declined to tell the Tampa Bay Times when or how he met Halfon.

Rappaport’s daughter, Dayna Titus, said in an arrest affidavit that family members were unaware of the marriage.

“Titus believed that Halfon was ‘conning’ Rappaport due to his age,” FDLE Special Agent Victoria Morris wrote in the affidavit.

Halfon’s attorney, Todd Foster, said the couple had a valid marriage.

“We look forward to bringing forward additional facts to bring clarity to this situation,” Foster said.