Police in Israel have accused crypto entrepreneur Moshe Hogeg and his partners of defrauding investors through a $290 million scam involving multiple projects. The latest allegations come on the heels of a two-year investigation into the former Israeli Premier League football team owner.
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Hogeg targeted Investors under false pretenses for four crypto projects. The entrepreneur then used the money for his own interests from 2017 to 2018. One notable purchase made by Hogeg using allegedly illegal funds was the ownership acquisition of the Beitar Jerusalem Football Club. He shelled out $7 million to buy the team. However, in August 2022, he sold it to entrepreneur Barak Abramov.
The police have held Hogeg responsible for committing several financial crimes. They ranged from forgery, money laundering, and tax violations to aggravated fraud, theft by an authorized person, conspiracy to commit a crime, and false registration of corporate documents.
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Israeli police question 180 witnesses
The police want Hogeg to be charged for his offenses. They have submitted their recommendation to Israeli prosecutors and asked them to pass judgment. The police revealed that they questioned 180 witnesses, amassed 900 pieces of evidence, and seized some funds and assets.
Hogeg was detained in 2021, along with seven others, for committing fraud. However, he was released under house arrest after a month. The entrepreneur has reportedly denied all the accusations against him. He has said that he was oppressed when he was under police custody.
The entrepreneur founded the Singulariteam Ltd. investment fund and continues to back Web3 projects. In July, he posted about his involvement with the TomiNet crypto on social media. Tomi is a blockchain project based on an “alternative internet network.”
He also raised money from American actor Leonardo DiCaprio and Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim for the now-defunct Mobli photo-sharing app. Additionally, he had amassed more than $1 million for an app called ‘Yo’ that let users message each other only using the word “yo.”
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