Nochi Dankner

Fraud

After some bad business deals made by Dankner, including investment in failed Las Vegas hotel and residential project, collapsed Maariv newspaper deal, IDB, which was a public company at the time sustained millions of dollars losses. Dankner tried to save the control of the company and hired Itay Strum, broker Adi Sheleg and some others to buy and sell IDB stock, causing inflation of prices during a public offering in February 2012. The intention was to raise capital for the company. Itay Sturm received eight million shekels from Nochi Dankner in order to buy and sell. Strum and his colleagues bought stock at higher prices, while they knew it was worth much less in order to manipulate traders to buy IDB stock at inflated prices. This raises the stock's price beyond its real one, which is illegal stock manipulation by law. [citation to law needed]

Dankner was charged with securities fraud and market manipulation. His trial took place in the Tel Aviv District Court before Judge Khaled Kabub. During the trial Dankner received dozens of letters and various documents in his support. Those documents were admitted at the trial as evidence of his good character. The documents came from different organisations, including the World Jewish Congress and Bar-Ilan University. Individual letters were received from top officers in the IDF, politicians and rabbis.

Dankner was convicted in July 2016. On 6 December 2016, he was sentenced to two years in prison, as well as 800,000 NIS fine. In addition, Dankner received a suspended sentence of an additional year. Prosecutors had asked for a three- to five-year prison sentence. Judge Khabub's formula of sentencing was:

"deemed it appropriate to punish the accused within the lower levels of the appropriate punishment due to the personalities of the accused, their extraordinary philanthropic work and the damages and losses they inflicted on themselves by getting embroiled in this scheme."

His accomplice Itay Strum was also convicted and sentenced to a one-year prison term and a 500000 NIS fine. IDB Holdings and Strum's ISP Trading Group were fined 250000 NIS and 150000 NIS.

Dankner appealed the conviction to the Israeli Supreme Court. On 29 August 2018, the Supreme Court rejected his appeal and increased his sentence to three years in prison. It also doubled Itay Strum's sentence to two years in prison. The Supreme Court ruled that he would begin serving his sentence on 2 October 2018. On 2 October, he arrived at Maasiyahu Prison to begin serving his sentence. He was granted early release in February 2020.