JERUSALEM (VINnews) — The State Attorney’s Office filed an indictment on Friday morning with the Jerusalem District Court against Moshe Lachovitz, a 21-year-old charedi resident of Jerusalem. According to the allegations, he maintained contact with an individual acting on behalf of Iranian intelligence and carried out a series of tasks for him in exchange for payment. Alongside the indictment, prosecutors requested that he be held in custody until the end of legal proceedings.

According to the indictment, Lachovitz made contact with a person who introduced himself as “Michael” while searching for work. What initially appeared to be an innocent conversation developed into an ongoing relationship, during which “Michael” also spoke with him about his personal life, religion, and the State of Israel, even stating that he liked religious Jews. At some point, he asked Lachovitz to send a photo of his ID card, and Lachovitz complied.

Later, the indictment states, “Michael” instructed Lachovitz to open a digital wallet using the Trust app in order to receive payments for the tasks he would perform. He was then asked to carry out various photography assignments and was instructed to download an application that allows taking photos even when the phone screen is off, effectively turning the device into an “operational phone.”

One of the first assignments was to photograph Liberty Bell Park in Jerusalem. According to the indictment, Lachovitz went to the site, documented the park area, and sent the video to the handler via Telegram. In return, on May 4, 2025, he received approximately $618 in cryptocurrency.

He was later asked to carry out another task in Ra’anana. Although he did not have a driver’s license, he drove there, traveled along a route he was instructed to document, filmed it using the operational phone, and sent the footage to the foreign agent via Telegram. For this task, he allegedly received an additional $909. He was then instructed to purchase a spray paint can at a store while documenting the action, and he sent that footage as well.

According to the prosecution, at a certain stage Lachovitz understood that the individual was acting on behalf of Iran, yet continued to maintain contact and carry out tasks that could assist in gathering information. The indictment states that the activity continued during “Operation Rising Lion” in late June 2025. During that time, he was asked what other locations he could document and suggested a site known as “Pardes Morasha,” near the Morasha Junction. He borrowed a car from a friend, again drove without a license, documented the location, and sent the video to the Iranian handler.

In total, the indictment states, Lachovitz received about $3,276 in cryptocurrency. However, a turning point occurred: in one conversation, the Iranian handler reportedly said that all Jews should die except for the charedim. Following these remarks, Lachovitz decided to cut off contact, stopped responding, and later handed over the operational phone to another woman after changing the SIM card and deleting its contents.

Nevertheless, according to the indictment, the connection did not disappear entirely. On September 28, 2025, the same Iranian handler contacted him again, asking for help locating a person to whom he had allegedly paid $1,000 for a motorcycle but who had since disappeared. Lachovitz replied that he could not assist.

Lachovitz is charged with offenses including contact with a foreign agent, providing information to the enemy, and additional related crimes. This case joins a series of incidents uncovered in recent months in which Iranian operatives attempted to recruit Israelis online using personal conversations, encrypted apps, and payments in cryptocurrency.