Article published in the Online Edition of the Israeli Newspaper The Jerusalem Post, Feb. 3, 2004:
2 men arrested for posing as terror victims
By Etgar Lefkovits
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One of the suspects appears in court Tuesday. |
Two Jewish residents of Jerusalem who disguised themselves as terror victims in order to receive monetary donations from a Christian group in the city were under arrest Tuesday, police said.
Jerusalem police's fraud squad began investigating the scam around a month ago after receiving information that a number of people had arrived at the central Jerusalem offices of the organization, 'Christian Friends of Israel,' bandaged - and sometimes in wheelchairs - asking for money for medical treatment for their terror-related 'injuries.'
Police then installed cameras opposite the organization's offices, which filmed a man bandaged from head-to-toe coming into the office. The man claimed that he had been injured in Thursday's suicide bombing on a Jerusalem bus, and asked for monetary assistance.
As soon as he left the building, the suspect took off his bandages and began counting the several thousand shekel donation he received.
Police suspect that as many as 11 people may have been involved in the scam, which, in all, defrauded the organization of tens of thousands of shekels.
The two men detained in the case so far, scam ringleader David Deri, 22, and Avshalom Nagar,21, were remanded in custody Tuesday for one to two days by the Jerusalem Magistrate's court, after which time they will be placed under house arrest, police said.
The Christian organization exploited in the scam refused to comment Monday. Police said that more arrests are expected in the case in the coming days.
