A prosecutor's statement was filed today (Sunday) against Elazar Wigderovich, who was previously called the "operations officer" of Hasidism Gur, suspected of fraud of millions of shekels - with the intention of filing a serious indictment and a request to detain him until the end of the proceedings.
The indictment will be filed after 33-year-old Wigderovich was deported from the United States, in coordination with the Israel Police - and arrested at Ben Gurion Airport.
According to the police statement, in recent months an undercover investigation has been conducted in the Tel Aviv District's fraud division, on suspicion of forging documents and misrepresentation, through the sale of property in Tel Aviv to several victims - with the "stingers" pocketing millions of shekels.
During the investigation, the suspect allegedly fled using a false identity and hid abroad for a long time. "He was declared wanted for questioning and after great efforts was deported from the US to Israel in cooperation between the authorities," the statement said.
On April 4th - Memorial Day - the suspect landed at Ben Gurion Airport and was transferred for investigation to the Tel Aviv District Fraud Division.
His detention was extended in the Magistrate's Court from time to time - and today, upon completion of the investigation, a statement of claim was filed against him by the Tel Aviv District Attorney's Office.
''Treasure' under a pile of suitcases
Elazar Wigderowitz was arrested about four months ago at the Canada-US border.
According to a report on the Mako website, Wigderovich flew from Israel to Warsaw, Poland, and from there continued to Toronto, Canada, with his friend, the lawyer, an American citizen living in Beit Shemesh. The lawyer rented a Jeep and hid Wigderovich in the trunk under a pile of luggage, with the aim of smuggling him into the United States through the border crossing at Niagara Falls.
Wigderovich, whose visa applications were repeatedly rejected due to his criminal past, hoped to cross the border without being caught, but customs officers discovered him - and arrested the two.
The New York court ordered Wigderovich's deportation to Israel, while the lawyer faces sentencing after being indicted for attempting to smuggle a foreign national.
The successful extradition on Memorial Day was Vigdorovich's second extradition attempt - after a previous attempt, carried out about three years ago, failed - in a daring escape operation.
Wigderovich, who was deported from New York in early February by federal police officers, who escorted him to the plane and recorded that he was not fleeing the flight, made a sophisticated move during the flight from New York to Tel Aviv - and evaded the clutches of the Israeli police.
This was after he staged a heart-rending incident during the flight, causing the plane to make an emergency landing in Dublin, Ireland. Upon landing, he got off the plane and fled - and the police who were waiting for him at Ben Gurion Airport with an arrest warrant were forced to return empty-handed.
However, some time later he was arrested by local authorities in Ireland and deported back to the US, where he was held in recent months in a US immigration detention facility - until his successful deportation and extradition.
This is not the first time that Vigdorowicz has gotten into trouble with the law under unusual circumstances. About eight years ago, his name made headlines in a serious case in Ukraine, in which cannabis was planted in the suitcases of a couple from Gur Hasidic, with the aim of having them arrested.
The police investigation then cleared the couple of all suspicion and revealed the involvement of Vigdorovich, who admitted to the acts as part of a plea bargain and served four years in prison.
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