A US court approved a plea bargain for a group of Israelis who were convicted of defrauding elderly US citizens out of millions of dollars.

Six of the defendants were sentenced to two to nine years in prison which they will serve in Israel. A seventh defendant awaits his sentencing.

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The group was arrested in September 2008 in a joint FBI-Israel police operation which uncovered their lottery scam.





Five of the defendants (Archive photo: Noam Moskowitz)

The Israelis would call senior US citizens and present themselves as lawyers representing large firms.

They then informed the victims they had won a large cash prize explaining they must pay a preliminary tax. This earned them some $2.5 million.

Six of the defendants were extradited to the US last November, while one suspect has yet to be apprehended and is currently wanted in the US.

The prosecution claims that many of the victims have lost their homes and savings, causing some to sink into depression.