World
Israeli-American businessman extradited to US on felony fraud charges
Israeli-American businessman Michael Fein was extradited to the US from Israel Thursday on charges relating to a $28 million fraud scheme linked to investment properties in Missouri and Oklahoma, the US Justice Department announced in a press release.
According to the department, Fein, now 47, was indicted in 2020 on felony bank fraud and wire fraud charges for “routinely providing false information on loan applications” for the purchase of apartment complexes for his property management firm T.E.H. Management.
US authorities were able to recently locate Fein in Israel, the press release said, and Israeli authorities approved his extradition after a request was made to the Justice Ministry.
“I’m very pleased that Michael Fein will be returned to St. Louis to face trial on the accusations that he fraudulently obtained millions of dollars,” US Attorney Thomas C. Albus said Thursday.
Fein made his first appearance in a US District Court in St. Louis, Missouri, on Friday.
According to the indictment, between 2016 and 2019, “Fein falsely inflated the number of tenants” at a St. Louis-area property he was looking to buy, “to obtain a $2.8 million loan to purchase the complex.”
A former executive was extradited from Israel this week to face charges in St. Louis. Michael Fein, now 47, was indicted nearly 6 years ago and accused of a $28,000,000 fraud scheme involving apartment complexes in Missouri and Oklahoma.
The indictment accuses Fein of routinely… pic.twitter.com/1L4NWKsxs4
— FBI St. Louis (@FBIStLouis) June 26, 2026
In 2016 and 2017, he also falsified a loan application to buy a separate property, receiving a $12.5 million loan, it said.
Later in 2017, prosecutors allege that he “submitted a false application” to refinance another property, receiving $7.7 million from his bank.
Two years later, Fein falsified another loan application, getting $5.2 million, the indictment said.
According to the Justice Department, prosecutors are seeking “the forfeiture of at least $23 million in proceeds linked to the alleged scheme.”
The case was investigated by the FBI, Justice Department, Housing Department and included “cooperation of Israeli authorities,” the press release said.
