Two former residents of the Fairfax District have been charged with allegedly defrauding three banks out of $33 million before fleeing to Israel to avoid prosecution.

Aryeh Greenes

Aviv Mizrahi, who also goes by the name Aviv Shoham Schwartz, 53, and Aryeh Greenes, 58, are charged with bank fraud and making false statements in loan applications in a federal grand jury indictment returned on Jan. 30. Mizrahi was also previously charged with bank fraud in an indictment returned by a federal grand jury in May 2012.

Mizrahi reportedly operated the wholesale electronics companies New Electronics Inc. and Tech Club Inc., as well as Star Club, a retail electronics store in Culver City. FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller said Mizrahi and Greenes, who served as the companies’ chief financial officer, used falsified financial records over a four-year period to obtain fraudulent loans from three banks. The pair allegedly obtained a $28 million line of credit from United Commercial Bank and a $3 million line of credit from TomatoBank. Mizrahi also allegedly acted alone in obtaining a $5 million line of credit from Security Pacific Bank.

United Commercial Bank and Security Pacific Bank later failed and were taken over by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, resulting in losses to the U.S. government of more than $1 billion.  The money allegedly stolen by Mizhari and Greenes has not been recovered. Eimiller said the men are believed to have fled to Israel within the last year.

“We have an attaché in Tel Aviv who is working with Israeli authorities and assisting in finding their specific locations,” Eimiller said. “Every case is handled on a case-by-case basis, and we will seek extradition. We have had successful extraditions from Israel, and will be working with Israeli authorities to bring them back to the United States to face prosecution.”

Both suspects are U.S. citizens. Mizhari is believed to have legally changed his name to Aviv Shoham Schwartz after arriving in Israel.

If convicted, Mizhari faces a maximum statutory sentence of 1,020 years in federal prison. Greenes faces a maximum sentence of 330 years in federal prison if convicted.

Anyone with information about the suspects’ whereabouts is asked to contact the FBI’s Los Angeles Office at (310)477-6565.