Particle.news
Download on the App Store

Jerusalem 21-Year-Old Indicted for Contact With Iranian Agent and Passing Information

Prosecutors cast the case as part of a broader push by Iranian operatives to recruit Israelis online for paid surveillance.

Overview

  • Israel’s State Attorney’s Office filed the indictment Friday in the Jerusalem District Court and asked a judge to keep Moshe Lachovitz in custody.
  • Prosecutors say he communicated on Telegram with a man calling himself Michael who asked for his ID and a Trust app wallet to receive payments.
  • He was told to use an app that records with the screen off and an extra phone, then filmed sites and routes and sent the videos back on Telegram.
  • The indictment cites specific tasks such as Liberty Bell Park, a mapped route in Ra’anana, Jerusalem streets and Mamilla Mall, and the Morasha Junction area.
  • Payments totaled roughly $3,000 in cryptocurrency, including about $618 for the park video and $909 for the Ra’anana route, and he later cut contact after the handler’s antisemitic remark.