On April 11, the Jerusalem District Court accepted the state petition and ruled that Yitzhak Cohen could be extradited to the United States for prosecution on charges of money laundering.
Cohen stands accused in the US of managing and operating an online prostitution network in that country between January 2013 and September 2019. He allegedly did so from Israel together with his partner Tracy Reynolds, who resides in the United States.
The court rejected all of Cohen’s arguments against extradition, primarily the lack of sufficient evidence.
The court stated that the investigative material described in the extradition request met the evidentiary requirements that the company in question did engage in prostitution services, mainly through the website and that Cohen was aware of this.
Reynolds allegedly transferred to Cohen a total of $1.2 million for the registration of the various sites related to the company, the maintenance of the sites, and for consulting the management of the business.
Finally, the court held that all the conditions required for Cohen’s extradition to the US were met under Israel’s Extradition Act and that he was extraditable to the US with respect to the charges.
However, since Cohen was a citizen and resident of Israel at the time of the commission of the alleged offenses, it was determined that he is entitled to serve his sentence in Israel should he be convicted and sentenced to prison time.
