The State Attorney's Office filed an indictment today (Wednesday) in the Tel Aviv District Court against Elazar Wigderovich, 34, who was previously known as the "operations officer of Hasidism Gur", for large-scale fraud, in which he acted together with others and defrauded a real estate developer and two elderly sisters, when he fraudulently sold him a building in Tel Aviv that was owned by the elderly sisters - while presenting forged documents.
The indictment was filed after Wigderovich was recently deported from the US in coordination with Israel, and was arrested at Ben Gurion Airport.
The prosecution is requesting that his detention be extended until the end of the proceedings.
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The indictment, filed by Attorney Razi Mahamid of the Tel Aviv District Attorney's Office, indicates that during July 2025, Wigderovich and his partners conspired to defraud a businessman and real estate developer - and to fraudulently sell him a building at 16 Idelson Street in Tel Aviv-Jaffa, owned by two elderly 92-year-old sisters, one of whom has since passed away.
Wigderovich is accused of, together with his partners, making false representations to the real estate developer that one of the partners holds an irrevocable power of attorney on behalf of the sisters who own the property, allowing him to sell it.
To this end, Wigderovich and one of his partners forged various documents signed by lawyers, including an irrevocable power of attorney and a false notarized certificate purportedly signed by the sisters.
Based on the false documents, the developer agreed to purchase the building for 6 million shekels and signed a purchase agreement. After signing, the developer transferred approximately 3.3 million shekels in installments to Wigderovich and his partners for the benefit of the deal - until the fraud was discovered.
Additionally, as part of the fraudulent scheme, they defrauded the Land Registry Office when they submitted a false application to register a warning notice on the property in favor of a company owned by the developer.
Later, they forged a request to cancel the registration of the warning note on the property, and it was deleted.
After receiving the funds from the entrepreneur, they laundered the money by transferring it to various bank accounts, in order to disguise its origin.
The indictment charges Wigderovich with multiple offenses of receiving something by fraud under aggravated circumstances, forgery with intent to receive something under aggravated circumstances, use of a forged document, and money laundering.
In the arrest request, the prosecution noted, among other things, the complex fraud mechanism that was built and planned in advance, the great sophistication, and the lack of inhibitions in committing the offenses.
The prosecution also emphasized the fear that he would escape justice, after he had already left the country on the day his accomplices were summoned for questioning - and was later arrested in the US when he tried to infiltrate its territory through the Canadian border crossing.
""The respondent's actions establish a presumption of dangerousness. The dangerousness is learned from the circumstances of the commission of the offenses, which indicate a sophisticated, systematic and continuous pattern of action. The respondent acted together with others to defraud N., using false representations, forging documents and operating a complex fraud mechanism, which was built and planned in advance and carried out in continuous coordination. The totality of the acts indicates great sophistication and a lack of inhibitions in committing serious fraudulent offenses, in a manner that indicates a high risk to security.
The public.
""Furthermore, the applicant will argue that in the respondent's case there is an additional reason for arrest, which concerns the fear of disrupting the investigation and evading judicial proceedings. The respondent left the country on December 2, 2025, the date on which Y.A. and D.R. were summoned for questioning by the police.
The respondent was subsequently arrested in the United States while attempting to infiltrate its territory through Canada, using
His accomplice, Y.A., who violated the terms of his arrest and fled the country. This conduct indicates a real fear of obstruction and evasion of judicial proceedings.
""The respondent has a criminal record that includes one previous conviction for six cases involving violent offenses. For this conviction, the respondent was sentenced, among other things, to a prison sentence for a period of 4 years, which reinforces the dangerousness posed by him and the need for his arrest.".
