Lawyer convicted of embezzling Holocaust claims

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An Israeli lawyer was convicted of bilking Holocaust survivors out of hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of reparations.

The Tel Aviv District Court on Wednesday found attorney Yisrael Perry guilty of fraud and obstruction of justice after a six-year trial.

Perry, who served as a go-between for survivors who lodged compensation claims with West Germany in the 1980s, was accused of embezzling reparations payments worth as much as $200 million. The 62-year-old lawyer, whom Israeli media said spends most of his time in homes in London and New York, has denied wrongdoing.

The court is expected to order Perry to refund at least some of the money to his victims, who also have the option of lodging a civil suit against him.

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