Israeli entrepreneur Ilit Raz admits in US court to defrauding investors of about $27 million for her start-up Joonko, which offered companies an AI-powered tool to increase diversity in hiring.
Raz, 40, knowingly sent investors false financial statements to secure the money in two funding rounds in 2021 and 2022, according to a statement from the Southern District of New York US Attorney’s Office.
She also exaggerated the number of Joonko’s customers and falsely claimed they “included some of the world’s largest companies, including a credit card company, sports apparel brand, online travel company and luxury fashion brand,” the DA’s office says.
“Her now-bankrupt company left victim investors with millions of dollars in losses,” the statement says.
Raz, who helped found Joonko in 2016 and served as its CEO, pleads guilty to a federal charge of securities fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, the office says, adding that her exact sentence will be determined in court.
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