Police crack scam giving discharged soldiers fake brides for cash
Ring provided fake documents and stand-in wives to help veterans obtain early payout of cash-release bonus
Police said Sunday they had busted a fraud ring that helped discharged IDF soldiers apply for a government bonus by using forged paperwork and, in some cases, with the aid of women who pretended to be their newlywed brides.
Two men and 12 women were arrested last week at the end of an eight-month-long undercover investigation that found the systematic fraud, swindling, forgery and tax crimes netted some NIS 2 million ($503,000) from the Defense Ministry and various banks across the country.
The probe, which was conducted together with the Tax Authority and the Haifa Income Tax Department, also questioned 120 soldiers who were involved in the ploy.
A 30-year-old resident of Kiryat Bialik and a 26-year-old resident of Acre were suspected of being the ringleaders and were remanded into custody until Sunday. Two of the female suspects were released with restrictions until the end of the investigation and the rest were discharged.
Israel Defense Forces soldiers are entitled to a government grant that is released five years after they are discharged from the military. The amount of cash depends on how long they served and in what units. It can be applied for within that time if a veteran gets married, begins academic studies, buys a property, or starts a business.
Police said the suspects contacted hundreds of discharged soldiers and offered to help them get the grants early by providing them with forged documents, including fake identity cards and marriage licenses.
In return, the soldiers paid the forgers about one-quarter of the grant, NIS 4,000 ($1,004). The ex-soldiers presented the fake paperwork — and their fake wives — at banks across the country to withdraw the funds.
Participants were encouraged to use social media and the Internet to invite their friends to join the scheme as well.
Police said they plan to send the information to the state prosecution to prepare evidence in preparation for filing indictments against all those involved.