A lawsuit filed over the weekend has revealed a sordid web of deceit involving alleged large-scale embezzlement, FX, Crypto and Binary fraud, and the theft of over 100 million euros worth of Bitcoin.
As reported in local Israeli media, lawyers Guy Yuval and Uri Arad have been accused of stealing a total of 2300 Bitcoins valued at 105 million euros from Jacques Henry Vygodatsky, a Belgian-Israeli, who himself was evading European authorities for his alleged part in industrial-scale binary options and forex frauds.
Although not confirmed as related Finance Magnates reported earlier this week of a number of warrants issued by German authorities and at least one arrest made as the global crackdown on trading scammers continues to hot up. Over the last 18 months, Israeli and German authorities have worked together to arrest dozens of Israelis suspected of being involved in financial trading scams.
The story, as per the indictment, starts in March 2021with Vygodatsky, through middleman Mickey Hefez agreeing with lawyers Yuval and Arad to transfer a sum of Bitcoin which the lawyers would convert into euros returned to Vygodatsky minus a commission. The following month in Bulgaria, Avi Itzkovich, an associate of Vygodatsky, was arrested on behalf of the German authorities who also issued a warrant for Vygodatsky.
Scamming the Scammer?
With an arrest warrant issued for Vygodatsky, according to the lawsuit, he "hastily turned to lawyers Yuval and Arad to consult with them on how he should proceed." What is then claimed to have followed can only be described as something out of a Netflix drama or a Hollywood film.
According to Vygodatsky, the lawyers came up with an evasion plan, which they warned if not followed would see Vygodatsky face a lengthy German prison sentence. Having been ordered to sever all ties with family and friends, Vygodatsky handed over his ID, passport and documents to the lawyers to be destroyed.
With his email servers wiped, Vygodatsky was ordered to break all contact with his lawyer of last decade Moshe Strogano, who had previously represented the plaintiff in all his private matters. The plan now was to smuggle Vygodatsky, using a fake passport supplied by Yuval and Arad to Latin America, where the lawyers claimed to have good connections.
Having left Bulgaria for Greece and then on to Portugal, all contact between Vygodatsky and Yuval and Arad was conducted through third parties and non-traceable disposable mobile phones. By now, Vygodatsky had entrusted his digital wallet and password to Yuval and Arad, who whilst financing Vygodatsky's Portuguese accommodation, refused to have any direct contact with him.
Whilst 'on the run' for a number of months and in financial difficulty, Vygodatsky tried requesting the promised funds from Yuval and Arad but was continually blanked. The lawsuit then claims that "Lawyers Yuval and Arad refused his demands and began to avoid the plaintiff's inquiries to them while threatening him that if he tries to contact them in order to ask for his money and bitcoins, they will contact the authorities in Germany and hand over his property and money to them."
More Twists Than a Chubby Checker Concert
Vygodatsky now suspicious of being scammed himself turned to his previous lawyer Moshe Strogano, who advised Vygodatsky to hand himself over to German authorities. Strogano is now representing Vygodatsky who is seeking a plea bargain in which most of the charges will be dropped and investors defrauded by Vygodatsky would be financially recompensed.
The drama continued with the lawsuit alleging that Yuval and Arad then embarked upon a smear campaign against Moshe Strogano in which fictitious and slanderous articles were published linking Strogano to FX fraud and helping Vygodatsky evade arrest.
Yuval issued a statement strenuously denying the charges:
"This is a fictional intimidation lawsuit, filed by Jacques Vygodatsky, a crook and international criminal who swindled thousands of innocent victims out of hundreds of millions of euros.
"He came to us in order to receive financial services and presented himself as an international businessman. After several months it became clear to us that he belongs to a criminal organization, and that his funds are funds that were stolen from a forex scam.
Yuval claims to have then reported Vygodatsky to the German authorities, saying:
"When we reported, at the request of the authorities in Germany, who are working against him, about his funds in huge sums kept in a bank account in Singapore, which he tried to hide from the thousands of victims he defrauded, he turned us into his enemies and persecutes us in every possible way."
In the statement, Yuval claims that Vygodatsky sent criminals to intimidate him:
"Vygodatsky even sent gangs of criminals to our home in the dead of night, and to our office during office hours, in order to discourage us from cooperating in the criminal and civil proceedings against him in Germany. These criminals were filmed and photographed and even arrested by the police after we filed complaints.
"After the intimidation through criminals failed, Vygodatsky moved to the next stage, which is an attempt to discredit us or delegitimize us, with a lawsuit that is entirely an act of fraud, which of course will be rejected. We will not be deterred and will continue to cooperate with the authorities in Germany so that he pays for his actions towards the thousands of victims."
Defendant Mickey Hefez dismissed the lawsuit as "nonsense" whilst a statement has yet to be made by Arad.
Finance Magnates will update the story when more details emerge or when the purchase of the film rights to this saga has been announced.
