Brothers N. and T., residents of the Jerusalem area in their 20s, ran a grocery store for several years that served as their main source of income.
But at the end of 2024, two crooks, posing as legitimate businessmen, approached N. and offered him business cooperation in the field of construction and entrepreneurship, promising high profits.
The two convinced N. to join them as a partner, with the condition being that the new company and the assets be registered in his name. Within a short time, a limited liability company was established and registered in N.'s name, and within the framework of this, several vehicles were purchased, including a Mercedes, a BMW, and a Jeep, all in N.'s name - and bank accounts were opened in several banks.
He said that the crooks explained to him that this was only a temporary move, and that the vehicles and liabilities would later be transferred to another company, owned by all three of them, which would conduct extensive business activities.
However, in reality, the joint company was never established, and within a short time it became clear to N. that he was left alone to bear the payments for the vehicles, with his "partners" refusing to participate in the financing.
At the same time, some of the vehicles were taken by one of the "partners" and N. began receiving traffic tickets and fines for using them. All the while, the crooks continued to promise N. huge business profits down the road, and so, despite having to bear many expenses, he had hope in his heart that he would soon see a reward for his expenses.
Several months after the company was founded, N. was persuaded by the two to sell it to a third party. He said he was promised a significant sum in return, but in reality, no agreement was signed between the parties, and N. received a much lower sum for the company than was promised.
According to him, the two were not satisfied with that, and continued to offer him business initiatives, first in the laundromat sector and later in other areas.
Because of the trust he had gained from them, and the many promises they made in the air, he agreed to give them his personal and business checkbooks, signed in advance. Several months later, he discovered that the checks had been distributed to various parties, and many of them had bounced, creating significant financial liabilities in his name.
And so, throughout the entire business partnership with the two crooks, no business activity was conducted that generated income, while the company's overhead expenses fell on N's shoulders.
A few months later, the brothers' grocery store also encountered cash flow difficulties, and in August 2025 it closed.
The amounts remaining after the closure and sale of inventory and equipment, amounting to approximately 100,000 shekels, were used by the brothers to cover debts to suppliers and other obligations.
Due to his business partnership with the crooks, due to the numerous traffic fines registered in his name, and due to the collapse of the grocery store he owned, N. was plunged into heavy debt, totaling 1.3 million shekels.
Realizing that he had fallen victim to sophisticated sting operations, N. filed several complaints with the police. In one of them, he even presented a voice message in which one of the "business partners" confirms that he is using vehicles he owns, while the fines accrued for those vehicles are recorded as N.'s responsibility.
It is alleged that during those years, T., N.'s brother, underwent surgery and was forced to go through a long recovery period during which he was not involved in running the business. After recovering, T. discovered that he was a partner in huge debts that had arisen in the grocery store's joint bank account, and that the extent of his debts was estimated at approximately 250,000 shekels.
After their father's death in 2024, the brothers waived their inheritance rights in favor of their mother, leaving them with no assets or savings. N. was left jobless and began looking for a source of income, ceasing to contribute to household expenses, and their mother was forced to sell jewelry to meet living expenses.
Against this background, and after the debts swelled and the ability to meet them became impossible, the brothers turned to attorney Mali Taib, who filed a petition on their behalf with the court for protection from creditors and entry into insolvency and financial rehabilitation proceedings. Their petitions were approved in December 2025 and February 2026.
The proceedings regarding the brothers are being conducted in the Jerusalem Magistrate's Court, and as part of them, a trustee was appointed for the two, who summoned them for questioning, and is expected to soon issue reports on the status of their assets and liabilities.
Attorney Mali Taib claims that all of the brothers' debts were incurred in good faith because they fell victim to a sting operation, in which they were presented with false representations that led to their names and assets being used for fictitious business activity.
As part of the proceedings, Attorney Taib is requesting that the two be exempted from the debt they have incurred, or alternatively, that they be given a reduced debt that will allow them to recover financially, while reintegrating them into society.
The court scheduled a hearing in their case for December 2026.
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