Tycoon gets back £21m in fraud battle

A British property tycoon has won a US court battle against an Orthodox developer who swindled him out of £23 million.

Berish Berger gave Eliyahu Weinstein, of New Jersey, $36.5 million, believing the money would be invested in two lucrative real estate deals in Philadelphia.

But a court heard the deals were part of a scam targeting wealthy members of the Orthodox community. The Sunday Times Rich List recently estimated Mr Berger's net worth at £35 million.

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Man sentenced for £6,000 fraud

A Jewish employee at a building material export company in Manchester has been sentenced to six months in prison for fraud.

Dov Hanson's sentence was suspended for 12 months and he was also prohibited from buying or trading in any building materials in the UK for six months after pleading guilty in Manchester Crown Court on Monday.

Hanson, 27, of Prestwich, pleaded guilty to abusing his position as an employee at Sundream Enterprises.

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Top lawyer questioned by police

A top Jewish lawyer has been interviewed by police investigating the alleged theft of £158,000 of his former chambers' funds.

David Friesner, who has represented Premier League footballers and was one of Manchester's most highly regarded barristers, was questioned under caution over the missing money. He has not been arrested or charged.

Mr Friesner, of Salford, denies any wrongdoing. His solicitor, Ian Lewis, said he would continue to aid police.

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Gibraltar 'fraud' lawyers are bailed

Two prominent lawyer brothers embroiled in a fraud case in Gibraltar have been released on bail.

Benjamin and Solomon Marrache had been remanded in custody since February. They were bailed on Tuesday on condition they provide £400,000 in sureties and surrender their travel documents. The same conditions were imposed on a third brother, Isaac Marrache, last month.

All three face charges of fraud and have been declared bankrupt. Marrache & Co is now in administration and specialists are investigating claims against it totalling £34 million.

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Fraud probe dropped into ex-Leeds United director

Property tycoon and former Leeds United director Simon Morris has vowed action against West Yorkshire Police who, he claims, "devastated" his life during a three-year probe into fraud allegations, which were dropped this week.

Mr Morris's property empire SRM Holdings was investigated for running fraudulent buy-to-let schemes. The investigation has now been dropped by the Serious Fraud Office, due to insufficient evidence.

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Jailed lawyer in bid to block probe into assets

A disgraced Israeli lawyer has launched a unique legal bid to block a Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) investigation into his alleged multi-million pound assets in the UK.

Israel Perry was jailed for 12 years in October 2007 for aggravated fraud, embezzlement, obstruction of justice and violation of insurance laws following a six-year trial in Israel. His sentence was later cut to 10 years.

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Cabbie stole £200,000 of aunt's savings

A 59-year-old man who forged a legal document to obtain thousands of pounds of his elderly relative's savings has been jailed for three years.

The fraudulent document made by Malcolm Laster, of Edgware, gave him control of more than £200,000 belonging to his wife's aunt, 82-year-old Sadie Joseph.

Over a two-year period Laster spent £218,208 on holidays to America and gifts for friends and family, St Albans Crown Court heard.

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Wiesel blasts 'obscene' Madoff play

Some issues might still be too sensitive. This could be the lesson learned by Washington's Jewish theatre, which had to cancel a play on the Madoff financial scandal.

In Imagining Madoff, by playwright Deb Margolin, a fictional Bernie Madoff is depicted sitting in his prison cell as he recalls a conversation he had with Elie Wiesel, the Nobel Peace Prize laureate whose foundation lost more than $15 million in Madoff's Ponzi scam.

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Lawyers face £34m fraud investigation

Three prominent Jewish lawyer brothers are embroiled in an alleged multi-million pound fraud case in Gibraltar.

London-based Isaac Marrache and his brothers, Benjamin and Solomon, who own and run the Marrache & Co firm, have all been declared bankrupt and face a range of charges.

Benjamin and Solomon, who run the firm's Gibraltar office, were declared bankrupt in early May by Gibraltar's Supreme Court, which claims that the pair have stashed money in Israel and Panama.

The company is now in administration and specialists are investigating claims against it totalling £34 million.

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