Law Offices of Jeffrey Lichtman Representing Israeli National Charged With Defrauding U.S. Foreign Aid Program
Yuval Marshak, an Israeli national extradited from Bulgaria and charged with allegations of schemes to defraud a multi-billion United States foreign aid program – the Foreign Military Financing program (“FMF”) – has retained Jeffrey Lichtman to defend him in the United States District Court of Connecticut. Mr. Marshak is alleged to be a former owner and executive of an Israel-based defense contractor and carried out multiple schemes to defraud the FMF from 2009 through 2013.
The FMF: Foreign Aid Money Paid to Israel to Use on American Military Equipment and Services
The FMF is an American government program which provides assistance in the form of funding to foreign governments for the purchase of military equipment and services from United States defense companies. Mr. Marshak pled not guilty to all counts in the indictment and has vowed to fight these charges which stem from allegations that he conspired to falsify documents to make it appear that FMF contracts had been competitively bid when, in fact, they had not. In addition, Mr. Marshak is accused of receiving a hidden commission from the winning bids and laundering these proceeds, in an effort to disguise the nature of these payments, to a relative’s Connecticut-based company, according to the indictment.
Mr. Marshak Quickly Consented to Extradition — and Is the Only Person Charged in this Alleged Four Year Scheme
The indictment was filed in January of this year and unsealed in July. Mr. Marshak was arrested and detained in Bulgaria and consented to extradition to the United States in order to more quickly fight the charges. Mr. Lichtman stated last week to Law360 that Mr. Marshak is “being scapegoated in this case, blamed for actions for which he had no control. He was not in a position to make the major decisions attributed to him; he’s not nearly the significant player he is being made out to be in this indictment,” Lichtman said. Interestingly, no one else has been criminally charged in this case: not the relative who received the proceeds of the alleged fraud, nor anyone associated with the American defense contractors who won the bids for the FMF contracts alleged in the indictment and who purportedly conspired with Mr. Marshak to pay a hidden commission and falsely denied it in written certifications to the Department of Defense: all received immunity agreements to testify against Mr. Marshak, instead.
The case has been assigned to the Hon. Alvin W. Thompson in federal court in Connecticut; the first appearance before the Court is scheduled for November 10 in Hartford.
Jeffrey Lichtman has received the highest rating (AV) from the Martindale-Hubbell Legal Directory, is recognized in the Bar Register of Preeminent Lawyers and has also been selected as a New York City Super Lawyer for being a leader in his field of criminal defense. Mr. Lichtman has received a rating of 10.0/10 Superb rating from Avvo Lawyer Directory and was profiled in the New York Daily News, The New York Times as part of the “Public Lives” series, New York Magazine and Ozy. He can be reached at (212) 581-1001.