Two indicted for impersonating minor online to lure and rob men in Beersheba

An indictment was filed against two men for impersonating a minor on dating apps to lure men to meetings in Beersheba, where they robbed them at knifepoint and demanded ransom for stolen phones.

The State Prosecutor's Office today (Sunday) filed an indictment in the Be'er Sheva District Court against Zohar Peretz (28) from Dimona and Moshe Halfon (18) from Be'er Sheva, charging them with two counts of aggravated robbery, extortion by threats, obtaining something by deception, and intentional damage to a vehicle. According to the indictment, the two conspired with another suspect who has not yet been arrested to pose as a minor girl on the dating app "MAKE LOVE" and on Telegram, using a photo of a young woman they asked to pose as a minor, in order to lure men to meetings and rob them. In the first case, the three fraudulently obtained 200 shekels from a complainant, invited him to a parking lot in Be'er Sheva, shouted at him "You came to my sister, she's a minor," threatened him with a knife, beat him on the head, and robbed him of 1,100 shekels, an iPhone 12, and a debit card. When he asked for his device back, they demanded 50,000 shekels. About five days later, they lured another man to a parking lot in the city, climbed onto the roof of his car, cracked the windshield with kicks, attacked him, and robbed him of 600 shekels and an iPhone. The detention request noted that the two have prior convictions for violent offenses and that they acted "without any fear or concern" in the middle of a residential neighborhood in broad daylight.