Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s wife was indicted on Thursday for fraud and breach of trust after allegedly paying for restaurant meals and private chefs with state money.
Sara Netanyahu is accused of fraudulently using over $99,000 in state money between September 2010 and March 2013, reported The Jerusalem Post.
Israeli journalists are labeling it “The Prepared Food Affair,” and Sara Netanyahu is not the only one entangled in it. She allegedly acted with Ezra Seidoff, a former high official in the Prime Minister’s office, prosecutors said. (RELATED: Israeli Warplanes Light Up Gaza In Response To Rocket Attacks)
The indictment comes as Benjamin Netanyahu is under the microscope for possible corruption, including accepting $285,000 in gifts like jewelry and cigars and striking a favorable coverage deal with an Israeli newspaper.
Sara Netanyahu and Seidoff were able to pay for the extravagant meals because of a regulations loophole. They could order prepared meals if the official residence was not employing a private chef. By having house managers and secretaries falsify invoices to chefs, they were able to pull off the “systematic fraud,” the prosecution claims.
Sara Netanyahu also ran into trouble when she used state money to pay for 11 days of home care for her now-deceased father. Ultimately, she was not indicted in 2017 because the amount of money was so small, but prosecutors said her previous conduct influenced the 2018 indictment.
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