We already reported a few weeks ago about the upcoming indictment of Israeli Tal-Jacki Zecharia Fitelzon. The 44-year-old guy was a lieutenant of the cybercrime organization E&G Bulgaria of Gal Barak, the “Wolf of Sofia.” The latter was sentenced to four years in prison in Vienna in September 2020. The Central Office Cybercrime Bavaria (ZKB) has filed charges against Fitelzon for defrauding 335 German victims of approximately €8.7 million. Fitelzon must now face a trial in Munich. Further charges surrounding E&G Bulgaria will follow in Germany and other jurisdictions.
The Vienna Sentencing
In September 2020, the Israeli Gal Barak was sentenced in the Vienna Cybercrime Trials (VCT) to four years in prison for investment fraud and money laundering. The German prosecutors also want Barak to stand trial in Germany, but his lawyer has appealed against it. The case is currently before the European Court of Justice. While Barak is fighting his indictment in Germany, his former co-conspirator, Israeli Tal Jacki Fitelzon, is waiting for the trial in pre-trial detention.
Organization, Principals, and Lieutenants
Barak’s cybercrime organization E&G Bulgaria operated broker scams XtraderFX, SafeMarkets, or OptionStarsGlobal, among others. Jacki Fitelzon was only one of the organizations lieutenant besides Amit Hulin, Itzak Gellet, Kfir Levy, Maor Sioni, Chen Ganon, or Jesse Tally. The principals were Gal Barak and his wife Marina Barak (formerly Marina Andreeva), as well as Israeli Gery “Gabi” Shalon and Russian Vladislav Smirnov. These are also listed as suspects in the criminal files.
The Fitelzon Charges
The prosecutors claim that Jacki Fitelzon, as the organization’s “Vice President Sales,” was responsible for the day-to-day operations of the illegal boiler rooms. Fitelzon is accused of having caused damage of approximately €8.7 million to 335 people from March 2016 to March 2019. :
A considerable dark field is to be assumed. The accused himself is said to have received proceeds of crime of at least EUR 760,000.
Senior Prosecutor Thomas Goger
Insiders estimate that the E&G Bulgaria scams stole more than €200 million from more than 50,000 victims worldwide. More indictments will follow around E&G Bulgaria.
German newspapers have reported on Jacki Fitelzon‘s indictment in a big way, like the BILD newspaper here or the German Handelsblatt here. The media proudly reports the first indictment of a boss of a cybercrime organization in Germany.
