The Magistrate’s Court in Petah Tikva sentenced Andrei Titelbaum, 37, of Netanya, to 18 months’ imprisonment and a suspended sentence, after pleading guilty to using fraud or deception in order to evade paying taxes, deducting fictitious tax invoices in order to evade paying taxes and distributing fictitious invoices. Cause another person to evade paying tax. As a result of the commission of the offenses for which the defendant was convicted, which were committed in the years 2015-2016, an amount of NIS 2,265,234 was deducted from the state coffers.
The defendant was the owner and manager of a company called “M.G. Professional Works Ltd.” which engaged in the installation of elevators and other construction work. During the period in question, the defendant deducted 33 fictitious invoices from various suppliers, for a total of NIS 11 million. Provided a product or service, using the same invoices, the defendant deducted input tax in the amount of approximately NIS 1.7 million.
The defendant also took part in the issuance of a fictitious invoice in the amount of NIS 517,784 in the name of a company called “Eglon Ltd.” The invoice, for which no actual transaction was made, the defendant transferred to another company called “V. God. M. Construction & Engineering Ltd. in order for this company to offset input tax in the amount of NIS 78,984.
Finally, the defendant also acted through the company he owned to issue fictitious invoices for a company called JM Operation Ltd., without receiving payment for them and without providing a product or service, all in order to allow the company for which the invoices were issued to offset them and reduce the Her tax liability In total, the defendant transferred 8 invoices in the amount of approximately NIS 3.5 million, of which the tax deriving is in the amount of approximately NIS 507,000.
The Honorable Justice Oded Moreno noted in his sentence the severity of tax offenses, which burden the public authorities, harm the state economy and the public coffers, and harm the value of equality in the burden. The judge also noted that the defendant did not return to the state the amount deducted as a result of his actions. On the other hand,
The judge saw fit to take into account the circumstances of the defendant’s life and the fact that he pleaded guilty, and even imposed a proportionate fine given his financial situation.
The case was handled by the Deputy Director of the Central District Legal Unit, Adv. Carmel Kador, and was investigated by the Beer Sheva VAT Investigations Department.