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Fraud

20 stories about Fraud

SEC charges Joonko founder Ilit Raz with $21 million fraud

12.06.24|CTech

Raz allegedly used fabricated customer testimonials, forged contracts, and falsified bank statements to secure funding.

Joonko files for Chapter 11, plans to distribute remaining $4.25 million to investors

19.05.24|CTech

The startup's operations effectively came to an end last summer after Ilit Raz, the former CEO of Joonko, left the company amid allegations from the board that she “engaged in egregious, unethical, and fraudulent conduct.” After leading the investigation on behalf of the investors and the management, COO Ilan Band is now seeking to complete the closure of the company

Court overturns Vesttoo's seizure request against founders and execs

20.02.24|Meir Orbach

District Court in Tel Aviv rules in favor of co-founders Yaniv Bertele and Alon Lifshitz, dismissing seizure bid

The Israeli startup saving bank customers from becoming "Trojan Horses"

16.01.24|James Spiro

CheckMate CEO Aviel Erdis explains how its solution can help banks and payment providers protect unwitting customers from helping cybercriminals with fraud attempts.

Vesttoo creditors claims reach $4.8 billion, but less than $100 million likely to be recovered

24.12.23|CTech

The bankruptcy court in Delaware conditionally sanctioned last week the reorganization plan under Chapter 11 for Vesttoo's bankruptcy, but according to industry website Artemis, it seems likely the creditors will only ultimately receive a miniscule portion of their claims

BioCatch enters unicorn club as valuation crosses $1 billion in latest secondary deal

20.11.23|Sophie Shulman

The company, which specializes in software development for identifying and preventing bank fraud and money laundering, secured around $70 million from Sapphire Ventures

Vesttoo's collapse to cost Meshulam Levinstein real estate company 5.4 million NIS

02.11.23|Almog Azar

Insurtech company Vesttoo, which rented office space in Levinstein Tower for a quarter of a million shekels per month, has collapsed due to suspected embezzlement of billions of shekels.

Creditors demand to liquidate Vesttoo and halt any attempt to reorganize the company

24.10.23|Meir Orbach

“Vesttoo – viewed as the Madoff of insurance – never operated as a business or as a going concern without revenue from the fraud,” read a statement by the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors in the Vesttoo bankruptcy case

Startup reality check: Founders and VCs face accountability wake-up call

21.09.23|Viki Auslender

Indian startup Byju's Alpha is yet another prime example of startup fraud, but the blame does not solely rest on the founders

Court approves seizure of $30 million in assets from Vesttoo co-founders, execs

19.09.23|Meir Orbach

The request, submitted by the company and approved by the Tel Aviv District Court, included foreclosures totaling approximately $23 million on the assets of co-founders Yaniv Bertele and Alon Lifshitz, as well as foreclosures totaling $7.2 million on two former executives and a service provider

Vesttoo report claims co-founders “directly involved in creating fake documents and forging identities”

07.09.23|Meir Orbach

The insurtech’s board filed its first interim report with the bankruptcy court and confirmed the source of Letter of Credit allegations. "This is a biased and fundamentally flawed investigation, which targeted the company's founders from the beginning," Bertele said

Ousted Vesttoo CEO appoints combative director to fight hostile board

07.09.23|Almog Azar

Co-founder Yaniv Bertele, who was officially fired by the board last week, has brought in attorney Ziv Ironi, regarded in Israel as a pioneer in the area of director activism, to fight on his behalf

Vesttoo CEO breaks silence in message to employees: “We were entirely unaware of any document falsification”

04.09.23|CTech

“We were targeted, tried, accused, and swiftly condemned even before the investigation commenced,” Yaniv Bertele wrote in a long message sent directly to current and former employees on Monday

Vesttoo founders officially fired by board after conclusion of fraud investigation

28.08.23|Almog Azar

After being placed on paid leave earlier this month, CEO Yaniv Bertele and Chief Financial Engineer Alon Lifshitz have been sacked, with the board hinting they were involved in the alleged fraud at the company. “The investigative body singled out the founders from the outset. Despite an extensive investigation, no evidence has been found against them, let alone presented,” Bertele and Lifshitz said in response

Court rules Vesttoo can’t make compensation payments to fired staff

27.08.23|CTech

Vesttoo, which laid off around 75% of its workforce last month, received approval to make payments of over $2.78 million to its remaining employees, but was told it currently can’t spend an additional $2.2 million related to compensation payments

Vesttoo revenue reached $110 million in 2022 prior to fraud scandal

22.08.23|CTech

According to a declaratory filing as part of the company’s Chapter 11, interim CEO of the company Ami Barlev revealed that Vesttoo's revenue surged from $30 million in 2021 to $110 million in 2022

Beleaguered Vesttoo regains control of assets thanks to bankruptcy filing

16.08.23|CTech

The temporary restraining order preventing the Israeli startup from accessing its assets in the U.S. was lifted after it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in a U.S. court a day earlier

Vesttoo seeks Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection

15.08.23|Reuters and CTech

The Israeli fintech has laid off staff, closed offices and appointed an interim chief executive following the discovery of fraudulent letters of credit used on its platform

White Rock requests Tel Aviv court to freeze all Vesttoo’s Israeli accounts

14.08.23|Tomer Ganon and Almog Azar

This comes after Vesttoo had all its assets, including bank accounts, in the U.S. frozen by a New York court last week following a request by White Rock

Vesttoo assets frozen by New York court

11.08.23|Almog Azar

The beleaguered fintech startup was handed another blow after all its assets, including bank accounts, were frozen at least until next week following a request by reinsurance broker Aon’s White Rock SAC