Israeli woman convicted in $150M scheme to defraud investors
Posted August 7, 2019 9:34 am.
COLLEGE PARK, Md. — A federal jury in Maryland has convicted an Israeli woman of charges she orchestrated a scheme to defraud tens of thousands of investors across the globe out of tens of millions of dollars.
Justice Department spokesman Peter Carr says 38-year-old Lee Elbaz is scheduled to be sentenced Dec. 9 following her conviction Wednesday on three counts of wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
Elbaz was CEO of Yukom Communications, an Israel-based company. Prosecutors said she trained employees to dupe investors through the sale and marketing of financial instruments known as “binary options.”
A defence attorney said Elbaz didn’t condone any of the fraudulent tactics used by employees who worked under her supervision.
FBI agents arrested Elbaz in 2017 after she travelled to New York.
Michael Kunzelman, The Associated Press
