JERUSALEM (VINnews) — A growing fraud scheme targeting members of Israel’s charedi community has come to light, with unsuspecting yeshiva students and ordinary citizens discovering that companies and businesses have been registered in their names without their genuine knowledge or involvement, leaving them facing enormous debts, lawsuits and bank account seizures.

According to a report broadcast Tuesday morning on the Kol Chai radio program The Public Hotline, the scheme typically begins with an apparently innocent offer from acquaintances or other individuals promising financial compensation, an increase in a yeshiva student’s monthly stipend, or assistance in obtaining a government grant.

In exchange, the individuals are asked to provide a photocopy of their identity card and sign several documents or powers of attorney, supposedly as a small favor. In reality, the organizers allegedly use these documents and personal details to register fictitious companies and businesses in the victims’ names with the relevant tax and corporate authorities.

One particularly troubling case was described by attorney David Friedman, a member of the Forum for the Protection of the Haredi Consumer, during an interview with presenter Zvi Tessler.

Friedman recounted the case of a 23-year-old yeshiva student who discovered that he had accumulated debts exceeding NIS 1 million as a result of a business registered in his name, without his fully understanding what he had agreed to.

According to Friedman, victims frequently remain unaware of the fraud until enforcement proceedings begin against them. They may suddenly receive notices from the Enforcement and Collection Authority, discover that their bank accounts have been frozen, or face legal claims over unpaid debts to the Value Added Tax Authority, the Israel Tax Authority and employees who were never paid their salaries.

The financial consequences can be devastating, particularly for young married men and yeshiva students who have little or no independent income and have no connection to the businesses supposedly operating under their names.

Friedman warned that providing personal identification documents and signing official paperwork can have serious legal consequences, even when the individual claims not to have understood the full purpose of the documents.

Under Israeli law, signing an official document can establish responsibility for the commitments it contains. Consequently, simply claiming that someone did not know a company was being registered in his name does not automatically absolve him of responsibility for its debts and obligations.

Nevertheless, Friedman explained that victims who can demonstrate that they were deliberately deceived or that their signatures and personal details were obtained through serious misrepresentation may be able to challenge the registrations and seek to have the resulting legal and financial liability removed through the courts.

The case highlights the dangers of handing over identity documents or signing legal paperwork in exchange for seemingly easy financial benefits. What may be presented as an opportunity to receive a small payment or an increase in a monthly stipend can ultimately expose an unsuspecting individual to debts running into hundreds of thousands or even millions of shekels.

The report serves as a warning to members of the charedi community to exercise particular caution when approached with offers involving the use of their personal details to establish businesses, register companies or obtain government benefits. Even when the request comes from someone they know and trust, signing documents without fully understanding their contents can have far-reaching consequences.