Intel Israel says purchase order fraud ran undetected for over a year.
Intel Israel has filed a lawsuit in the Haifa District Court alleging a sophisticated embezzlement scheme totaling over NIS 3 million (over $840,000). The complaint targets Natalia Avtsin, a former employee in the company's hardware production department, and Yafim Tsibolevsky, a former supplier. According to Intel, the two used their prior acquaintance to carry out a prolonged fraud operation.Avtsin was fired in November 2024 from her role overseeing subcontractors and supplier procurement. Her dismissal, Intel claims, was unrelated to any suspected misconduct and stemmed from broader workforce reductions due to a slowdown in operations. At the time, the company had no indication of wrongdoing.
Tsibolevsky, who now works at Israel Railways, registered as an authorized dealer under the name “Energy Electronics 2000” in September 2023 and became an official Intel supplier the following month. The alleged fraud began shortly thereafter, in October 2023, and continued until Avtsin’s dismissal.
According to the lawsuit, the fraudulent collaboration worked as follows: Avtsin would email Tsibolevsky for price quotes on hardware components. Upon receiving a quote, she would forward the request to her manager for purchase approval. However, after receiving approval, Avtsin allegedly altered the transaction classification from "components" to "services", a change that bypassed critical verification steps.
Intel Israel explains that service payments do not require a signed delivery note or confirmation of receipt by another party within the company, unlike component purchases. As a result, Tsibolevsky could submit invoices and receive payment without further scrutiny.
“If the defendant [Avtsin] had indicated the purchase was for ‘services,’ her manager would not have approved it,” Intel wrote in the filing. “Energy [Electronics 2000] was not authorized to provide services.”
Intel alleges that if the transaction had remained classified as a component purchase, it would have required validation from the company’s warehouse, effectively preventing the fraud.
Further raising suspicion, nearly all of the invoices submitted by Tsibolevsky closely matched Avtsin’s personal order limit of $20,000 per transaction, suggesting deliberate planning. “Miraculously, most invoices issued by Tsibolevsky at Avtsin’s request were stated in shekels at the precise value of her purchasing threshold,” the lawsuit notes.
In addition to direct dealings, Intel claims similar transactions were funneled through a third-party procurement intermediary, Levanon Kogan, which provides purchasing services for vendors not officially registered with Intel. While Intel is not accusing Levanon Kogan of wrongdoing, the same fraudulent pattern allegedly occurred: Avtsin would obtain a quote from Tsibolevsky, request Levanon Kogan to pay him, and then reclassify the purchase from components to services to avoid detection.
According to Intel, Avtsin and Tsibolevsky orchestrated 30 fictitious orders via Levanon Kogan, amounting to more than NIS 2 million.
Intel is seeking restitution of the full embezzled amount, along with any profits the defendants earned from the scheme.
A response from the defendants has not yet been received.
Source: https://www.calcalistech.com/ctechnews/article/hkj4lcbmgx
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