Israeli-American Extradited from Spain to US in Massive Loan Fraud Scheme
Shaul Shalev, 36, is accused of stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from small businesses by posing as a financial broker and diverting loan payoffs to his own crypto accounts.
An Israeli-American citizen has been extradited from Spain to the United States to face charges for an elaborate fraud scheme targeting dozens of small businesses and banks across America.
Shaul Shalev, 36, a former resident of Brooklyn who had been living in Dubai, was arraigned yesterday in federal court in Connecticut. He was arrested in Barcelona last September following an investigation by the FBI and Connecticut State Police.
According to court documents, Shalev orchestrated a sophisticated scam between 2020 and 2025 that defrauded at least 25 small and medium-sized businesses.
The "Refinancing" Trap
Prosecutors allege that Shalev’s modus operandi involved finding businesses that had already taken out commercial loans, often by scouring public databases. Using stolen identities and aliases, he would contact these companies posing as a financial broker, offering them attractive terms to refinance their debt or secure additional funding.
Once the new lenders approved the loans, Shalev allegedly provided instructions for them to pay off the "previous lender." In reality, the bank account details he provided belonged to him.
Following the Money
In one notable case cited in the indictment, Shalev convinced a Connecticut financing company to lend $343,000 to a car dealership in Ohio. He allegedly directed the lender to wire approximately $200,000 to a "prior lender" account under his control, in addition to pocketing a $42,000 "broker fee." Similar incidents were recorded involving businesses in Indiana and Michigan.
Investigators say that once Shalev received the stolen funds, he quickly converted the money into cryptocurrency to hide the trail.
Serious Charges
During yesterday's hearing, Federal Magistrate Judge S. Dave Vatti ordered Shalev detained pending trial.
He faces a litany of serious federal charges, including three counts of wire fraud, four counts of money laundering, and two counts of aggravated identity theft. If convicted, he faces a lengthy prison sentence.