Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's wife, Sara, was convicted on Sunday for misusing state funds to order catered meals to the Prime Minister's Residence after a judge upheld a plea bargain she had struck with prosecutors.
Under the agreement, a fraud charge was reduced to a lesser offense. Netanyahu also agreed to pay the state 45,000 shekels ($12,500) in reimbursement and a 10,000 shekel ($2,800) fine.
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According to the original indictment, Netanyahu, along with a government employee, fraudulently obtained from the state hundreds of meals supplied by restaurants, at an estimated cost of more than $100,000, essentially bypassing regulations that prohibit such a practice if a cook is employed at the Prime Minister's Residence.
As part of the revised indictment that was submitted to the court earlier this month, the fraud charge was dropped. Instead, Netanyahu was charged with intentionally exploiting another person's mishandling of state money for her own benefit.
Netanyahu's supporters, including her husband the prime minister, have said that her conduct was not criminal and claimed that even if funds were improperly used, she was not in charge of bookkeeping at the Prime Minister's Residence and hence should not be held accountable.
Her lawyer Yossi Cohen repeated those claims after the court hearing on Sunday, saying the entire case was a "product of ugly and defamatory leaks that were designed to besmirch my client."
"Do you understand what you admitted to?" the judge asked Netanyahu, 60, at the court hearing.
"Yes, I do," she replied, and the judge proceeded to ratify the deal.
In explaining the plea agreement to the court, prosecutors cited Netanyahu's clean record, the public humiliation she has suffered as a result of the case and the time that has passed – up to nine years – since the alleged actions were committed.
The government employee charged along with Netanyahu also reached an agreement with the prosecution and was fined 10,000 shekels ($2,800).
