Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s wife Sara was charged with aggravated fraud on Thursday. According to the indictment, Mrs. Netanyahu “worked together with Ezra Seidoff to fraudulently obtain funding for ordering hundreds of meals from restaurants worth 393,670 shekel ($108,745).”
Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit decided to accept the recommendation of the State Prosecutor’s Office and rejected the arguments of Mrs. Netanyahu’s lawyers in favor of dropping the case. The Prime Minister’s wife will be prosecuted for the offenses attributed to her. At the same time, the Jerusalem District Attorney decided to reject the claims of the Deputy Director of Operations and Assets in the Prime Minister’s Office, Ezra Seidoff, and indict him as well.
Mrs. Netanyahu and Seidoff are accused of fraud under aggravated circumstances and breach of trust. Seidoff is also accused of forgery by a public servant, related to his involvement in financing private expenses in the Prime Minister’s Residence.
Mrs. Netanyahu is accused of ordering meals from Jerusalem restaurants for as much as 26,000 shekel ($7,000) a month while employing a kitchen staff.