Aviv Talmor, the Founder and CEO of the algo-trading company UTrade, has received a four-year prison sentence for defrauding investors of NIS 77 million ($22 million), along with other charges. Additionally, he was fined NIS 250,000 (about $78,900).
The sentencing on Wednesday came after the District Court in Tel Aviv convicted him in September 2022. He was found guilty of fraud under aggravated circumstances, theft by an authorized person, money laundering, and managing an investment portfolio without a license.
Initially, the prosecutors sought a sentencing of eight years, but Judge Khaled Kabov reduced it to four years. In addition, Talmor received a suspended sentence of three months to submit an appeal.
UTrade raised NIS 100 million between 2012 and 2015 from around 600 clients, promising an annual return of 15 to 20 percent. Though the company’s clients were primarily Israelis, a previous report revealed that the firm targeted global clients.
The action against Talmor and UTrade started in 2015 when several investors complained to the authorities, followed by an inspection. The company even used customer deposits for operational expenses and strategic expansion with an acquisition. Moreover, it paid off old customers using the deposits from the new ones. An indictment was filed in 2018.
However, Judge Kabov justified the lighter sentence by saying that Talmor did not misappropriate the clients’ funds for personal gains. On top of that, he pointed out that Talmor expressed “sincere sorrow and remorse” for his actions.
“The defendant is currently in insolvency proceedings, and he is having trouble making a living and providing for his home and family,” the Judge said (translated from Hebrew). “Talmor faced the consequences of his actions, their severity, as well as the full significance of the damage caused by him to the investors.”
On the contrary, the Israeli prosecutors are not satisfied with the lighter sentencing and said they will “study the sentence.”
Apart from Talmor, the Israeli authorities went after Aviv Talmor’s sister, Ma’ayan Talmor, and the Chief Analyst of UTrade, Roy Cuzin. Ma’ayan Talmor pled to the conspiracy charges to commit a crime and was fined NIS 10,000 with a suspended sentence, while Cuzin fled Israel, which led to the suspension of proceedings against him.
