The Southern District Attorney's Office filed an indictment in the District Court in Be'er Sheva against Avraham Weizman, a 33-year-old resident of the city.
The indictment alleges that Weizmann on many occasions sold land and plots not owned by him to private clients and various companies, falsifying signatures and official state documents, and falsely misrepresenting that he owns rights to these lands. As part of the acts, Weizmann falsified documents that were submitted to the Execution Office and the banks, as well as to the courts.
As a result of the fraud, Weizmann received more than NIS 2 million from the victims and was in the process of receiving an additional NIS 15 million.
According to the facts alleged in the indictment, between 2016 and 2019 Weizmann represented himself to private clients and various companies as owning land rights in the cities of Dimona, Be'er Sheva, Ofakim, and the Hura region, and as a representative of the owners of rights to these lands, with the intention of fraudulently selling the land to potential customers and fraudulently receiving funds in exchange for the land.
To carry out the deception, Weizmann systematically and prolifically forged official State documents, using false signatures and signatures that appeared like those of lawyers or stamps of companies and individuals with land rights, and false representations in writing and orally to customers claiming to be qualified to sell them these lands. Due to misrepresentations, the customers signed various sales agreements with Weizmann, some paying him sums of money in the amount of hundreds of thousands of shekels, totaling more than NIS 2 million.
For example, a real estate sale agreement was signed between a private company and Weizmann, who falsely pretended to be a signatory on behalf of an association for the sale of 26 housing units, while forging documents of the Israel Lands Authority and forging signatures and stamps of workers at the Israel Lands Administration and the Housing Ministry. Weizmann knowingly used details of a tender that had already been canceled by the Israel Lands Authority to receive fraudulently from the private company about NIS 13 million. The fraud was exposed before the money was transferred from the company thanks to the alertness of Land Authority officials. After that, Weizmann tried to receive funds of the association's guarantee that were still in the Authority's possession.
Weizmann worked similarly on lands with which he had no connection in Ofakim, where he falsified documents of the landowner, posing as a representative on his behalf, and tried to sell thirty lots.
As the indictment indicates, Weizmann continued to falsify and deceive clients even when his first frauds were already revealed. Whenever the defendant was required to furnish any document to the Authority or one of his victims, he would fabricate and falsify the needed document to continue his misrepresentations.
Additionally, Weizmann falsified documents and fabricated evidence that he used as part of a summary procedure against him, to fraudulently accept the cancellation of the procedure and the restrictive conditions imposed on him, and forged a document entitled "Debt Settlement" that seemed to reflect agreement between Weizmann and the complainants as to the manner of payment of the debt and the closing of the complaint by the complainants in the case. The document was submitted by Weizmann to the Execution Office leading to a decision by the Registrar of Execution that the restrictions imposed on him due to the debt were canceled and proceedings delayed. After the fraud was revealed, proceedings were resumed.
The indictment further states Weizmann falsified documents of a building engineer to delay execution of a demolition order. Weizmann added a document submitted to the local affairs court for a building permit, which was supposed to be an engineer's approval, according to which a stability test was conducted for the building that was to be demolished by the authorities, and the planning procedures were also examined.
As a result of his fraud and forgery, Weizmann received a total of NIS 2,329,119 from the complainants, and also tried to fraudulently receive an additional NIS 15,640,000. The case was investigated by the South Fraud Unit at the Israel Police.
The indictment charges Weizman with 11 counts of forgery, receiving fraudulently under aggravated circumstances, using a forged document for the purpose of receiving in aggravated circumstances, falsifying evidence, and more.
The prosecution seeks to extend the defendant's remand until the end of legal proceedings against him.