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Too pretty for prison? Supermodel Bar Rafaeli escapes jail, but not her mom

Bar Refaeli was accused of tax evasion to the tune of over 24 million shekels.

By David Isaac, World Israel News

Bar Refaeli will not go to prison for tax evasion, but her mother will. The agreement with prosecutors was announced on Tuesday. It brings to a conclusion a messy tax evasion case involving one of the most successful supermodels Israel has produced.

Bar Refaeli was accused of tax evasion to the tune of over 24 million shekels.

Both Bar Refaeli and her mother, Tzipi, will pay a 2.5 million shekel fine. Tzipi will go to prison for 16 months. The amount is far less than what a court ordered Bar Refaeli to pay in May 2019. The court then declared that Ms. Refaeli owed NIS 8,593,955 for 2009 and NIS 7,860,987 for 2010.

Bar Refaeli will perform community service on top of the fine.

As part of the deal, Refaeli agreed to withdraw her July 2019 appeal to the Supreme Court.

Tzipi is taking the lion’s share of the blame for her daughter’s tax evasion. According to reports, Tzipi, who handled her daughter’s finances, hid from the tax clerk the fact that her daughter had two places of residence in Israel. She also hid a third location that was to serve as Bar’s future place of residence. Tzipi therefore deceived the tax clerk about these assets.

Refaeli had insisted that she was living abroad and therefore was not obligated to pay Israeli taxes during the time in question.

Refaeli declared in her tax documentation from 2009-2010 that she did not live in Israel, did not earn money in the country and that her main center of life was in the United States.

However, during the time she claimed she was not living in Israel, she told U.S. authorities that she was living in Israel. The IRS had her registered as a “non-resident.”

Attorneys Ruth Litbeck and Moti Lazar, who represent Refaeli, said: “The plea bargain clarifies once and for all that Bar Refaeli has not acted with the intention of evading taxes. It is not disputed that at the relevant times, Bar was in her early twenties working as an international model and did not deal with financial matters.

“Bar takes responsibility for mistakes made today and will bear the price involved. She is sorry that her beloved family has had to endure such a difficult time and, in particular, it hurts her that her mother will pay the price. Bar is comforted that her family is loving and cohesive and together will get through these difficult days as well. Over 10 years after the event, Bar wants to end the affair and focus on her family and children,” her attorneys said.

Tzipi’s attorneys, Michal Rosen Ozer and Inbal Ze’evi Duchovni, said: “After some difficult years, this episode came to an end when Tzipi Rafaeli takes responsibility and pays a heavy price. At this time, Tzipi finds herself strengthened as she is enveloped in the support of her family and friends.”

Word that Israel’s State Prosecutor’s Office was considering putting Bar Refaeli on trial for tax evasion first emerged in December 2018.