State prosecutors on Sunday indicted Be’er Ya’acov deputy council head Noam Sasson and six other defendants over allegations that he exploited his municipal position to steer public contracts to associates, including a transportation tender from which a company allegedly received more than NIS 20 million.
The indictment charges Sasson with three counts of fraud and breach of trust, aggravated fraud, making a false sworn statement, threats, and witness harassment.
The other defendants include Giora Shabtai, contractor Erez Medina, Oshri Farhan, transportation contractor Eliyahu Dawan, and two companies. They face various charges, including aggravated fraud, offenses involving bribery and mediation, false corporate records, money laundering, and tax offenses.
According to the indictment, Sasson served from June 2019 as a salaried deputy head of the Be’er Ya’acov Local Council, holder of…
PAYROLL & HR CONTROLS (PREVENTING “GHOST” SCHEMES)
Payroll fraud is often the hardest to detect because it “looks” like a normal business expense.
- Segregation of Duties (SoD): The person who adds new employees to the system must not be the same person who approves the monthly pay run.
- Mandatory Vacation Policy: Require all financial and HR staff to take 5–10 consecutive days of leave annually. Fraud often surfaces when the perpetrator isn’t there to “hide” the trail.
- Ghost Employee Audit: Perform a quarterly “Headcount Reconciliation” where managers must physically verify every name on their payroll list exists.
- Self-Pay Blocking: Ensure the payroll software has a hard-coded block preventing administrators from editing their own salary or bank details.