Ponzi Schemer Who Targeted Orthodox Jews Sentenced To Prison: DOJ

LOS ANGELES, CA — A convicted fraudster who largely targeted members of the Los Angeles and New York Orthodox Jewish communities with purported real estate ventures in Israel was sentenced Friday to nearly seven years in prison, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Yossi Engel, 36, who formerly lived in LA's Fairfax district pleaded guilty in May to one count of wire fraud. His 80-month sentence handed down in federal court Friday also included an order to pay restitution of $11.75 million, prosecutors said.

Between September 2018 and January 2021, Engel defrauded victims by claiming he needed money in the form of short-term loans with high rates of returns for the business operations of iWitness, a Hancock Park-based security-camera company, prosecutors said.

He told victims that iWitness was a large company with many clients, but the reality was that work was so light that iWitness employees often sat around while Engel slept on a couch, prosecutors said.

Another part of the scheme involved Engel falsely claiming to be developing real estate in Israel using fake land documents. He told victims he needed money for redevelopment and would share the profits when he sold the properties, prosecutors said.

Engel told victims that he needed investments because he was from Israel and did not have sufficient credit in the U.S. to obtain favorable interest rates at U.S. banks, prosecutors said.

Engel used victims' money for private jets, casino visits and the make Ponzi payments to investors to perpetuate the scheme, prosecutors said.

The scheme fell apart in early 2021, when Engel left the U.S. for Israel. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission sued Engel in January, claiming he targeted at least 29 members of the Orthodox Jewish community in the scheme.

City News Service contributed to this report.