Ex-officer accused of staging a raid for crypto

One night last December, six men met at a home in the Hollywood Hills to plot a kidnapping, prosecutors say.

- BY MATTHEW ORMSETH

A FORMER LAPD officer and an alleged “Israeli mafia” figure are accused of robbing a teenager.

IRFAN KHAN Los Angeles Times

Their alleged target was a 17-year-old operator of a cryptocurrency business. His abductors, authorities charge, included a felon with ties to Israeli organized crime and a former officer from the Los Angeles Police Department.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Jane Brownstone on Friday disclosed details of the alleged kidnapping at bail hearings for the alleged gangster, Gabby Ben, and the former officer, Eric Halem. Both men have pleaded not guilty to the charges against them.

Ben, 51, has twice been convicted of fraud and deported to Israel, according to court records. Along with his blue jail jumpsuit, he wore a yarmulke and towel around his neck. He shrugged and shook his head when Brownstone said he has “ties to the Israeli mafia.”

Halem, 38, who appeared in court in an orange jumpsuit, served 13 years in the LAPD. By the time he left the department in 2022, he had developed lucrative side hustles, including a luxury car rental business and an app that allowed actors to audition remotely. He was also flirting with the idea of developing a reality show about his life, former associates told The Times.