A Connecticut jury has indicted a dual U.S.-Israeli national with nine offenses.
Saul Shalex, 36, allegedly defrauded multiple small and medium-sized businesses and commercial lenders.
The indictment was returned on August 20, 2025, and Shalev was arrested in Barcelona, Spain, on September 15, 2025, at the request of the United States. Shalev appeared yesterday before U.S. Magistrate Judge S. Dave Vatti in Bridgeport and was ordered detained.
As alleged in court documents and statements made in court, Shalev holds U.S. and Israeli passports, lived in Brooklyn, New York, until approximately February 2019, and most recently resided in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Between approximately December 2019 and November 2022, Shalev defrauded more than 20 small and medium-sized businesses.
Shalev obtained information about commercial loans received by the small businesses and offered the SMBs the opportunity to refinance the loans or to obtain additional financing, either from the original lender or from a new lender. Shalev, using stolen identities and making fraudulent representations, acted as a broker between businesses and potential lenders.
After obtaining new or additional financing for a small business from a commercial lender, Shalev provided fraudulent payoff instructions to the small businesses with respect to a prior loan, causing the business to send all or part of the loan proceeds to an account he controlled. Shalev also fraudulently received a commission from the lender.
The indictment specifically alleges that
- In December 2020, Shalev used a stolen identity and posed as a broker between an auto dealership in Ohio and a commercial lender in Connecticut. Shalev caused the lender to make a loan of $343,000 to the auto dealer, caused the auto dealer to make a payoff payment of $190,668.06 to a commercial lender in Colorado that was actually directed to an account controlled by Shalev, and received a commission from the Connecticut lender of $42,000.
- In August 2021, Shalev used a stolen identity and posed as a broker between a healthcare provider in Indiana and the Connecticut lender. Shalev caused the lender to make a loan of $145,500 to the healthcare provider, caused the healthcare provider to make payoff payments totaling $156,838.85 to the commercial lender in Colorado that were actually directed to an account controlled by Shalev, and received a commission from the Connecticut lender of $18,000.
- In November 2022, Shalev posed as a broker between a provider of home improvement services in Michigan and a commercial lender in Pennsylvania. Shalev caused the lender to make a loan of $196,000 to the Michigan business, advised the business that the loan proceeds were sent in error, and instructed the business to “return” the proceeds to an account he controlled.
It is alleged that Shalev converted stolen funds into cryptocurrency.
The indictment charges Shalev with three counts of wire fraud, an offense that carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years on each count; four counts of money laundering, an offense that carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years on each count; and two counts of aggravated identity theft, an offense that carries a mandatory consecutive term of imprisonment of two years on each count.
U.S. Attorney Sullivan stressed that an indictment is not evidence of guilt. Charges are only allegations, and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
This investigation is being conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Connecticut Cyber Task Force (CCTF), the Stamford Police Department, and the Greenwich Police Department. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs and Spanish authorities provided significant assistance in securing Shalev’s arrest and January 23 extradition.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Edward Chang.