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A Holocaust survivor and mathematician who won the lottery over a dozen times is preparing to return to Israel, 18 years after he left in the midst of a court conviction.

Romanian mathematician Stefan Mandel first won aged 24 in his home country, using an algorithm that he claims took him five years to develop.

But when he tried to establish a cooperative lottery fund later in life, he was charged by Israeli authorities for not giving investors the actual odds of winning.

Mr Mandel made aliyah but later moved to Australia, where he won the jackpot in the local lottery 12 times.

He found initial success by establishing a business around his algorithms, which attracted investors from across the globe.

In 1996, he and an associate opened a cooperative lottery business, which reportedly promised the chance to win land in Vanuatu in exchange for funds.

When they brought this business to Israel, Mr Mandel came under scrutiny of the Israel Securities Authority.

After being interrogated, he made bail and left for London in 2002.

Two years later he chose not to attend his Israeli trial, where he was convicted in absentia and sentenced to 10 months in prison. 

Hanan Melcer, then Deputy Chief Justice of the Israeli Supreme Court, later said this should not have happened as he was not present at the trial.

Mr Mandel’s subsequent appeal of the conviction was refused on the basis that he was not in the country to contest it.

This week, Ynet reported that the 80-year-old had already purchased plane tickets for April, claiming has new evidence that will clear his name.

He has been given 30 days immunity upon arrival to ask for a retrial.

Mr Mandel has appealed his sentence multiple times in the past, but all have been turned down as he is defined as a fugitive of the state.

This article was updated on January 21, 2020 to clarify that Mr Mandel has only appealed his original conviction once, and not multiple times as originally reported. Mr Mandel also denies having “fled” from Israel.