Israel Police on Sunday morning arrested a 41-year-old resident of Afula on Sunday morning on suspicion of orchestrating a large-scale travel fraud scheme over the past several weeks.
The alleged scheme caused significant distress to dozens of Chabad hasidim who had planned to travel to New York for the Tishrei holidays. In it, the suspect allegedly sold flight tickets that turned out to be either forged or completely non-existent.
Over the past several weeks, police received dozens of complaints from across the country regarding an individual from Afula who presented himself as a travel agent. Victims transferred him thousands of shekels for each ticket, only to discover they had been deceived.
The victims' testimonies vary: Some travelers en route to New York were stranded in Athens after discovering their connecting flights were fake. Others arrived at Ben Gurion Airport only to find no reservation under their names. Another group made it to New York but was left stranded there with no valid return tickets.
Thus far, the investigation team from the Northern District has identified 69 victims who transferred funds to the suspect. Authorities estimate the total amount defrauded exceeds NIS 400,000.
On Sunday morning, after the investigation became public, police raided the suspect’s apartment in Afula. He was arrested and taken in for questioning. He was brought before the Nof Hagalil Magistrate’s Court on Sunday afternoon, where police requested an extension of his arrest.