Moshe Hogeg

Moshe Hogeg
משה חוגג
Born (1981-05-15) 15 May 1981
Beersheba, Israel
OccupationBusinessman

Moshe Hogeg (Hebrew: משה חוגג; born 15 May 1981) is an Israeli businessman.

Early life

Hogeg was born on 15 May 1981, in Beersheba, and grew up in the nearby local council of Meitar.[1][2] He identifies as an Arab Jew, his father was born in Tunisia and his mother in Morocco.[3]

Business ventures

In 2010, Hogeg founded Mobli, which reportedly attracted numerous celebrity investors including Carlos Slim, Serena Williams, and Leonardo DiCaprio.[4] One investor was Kazakh businessman Kenges Rakishev; the two later founded a venture capital firm that became known as Singulariteam, which was one of the most active firms in Israel for a time.[4] In April 2014, he co-founded Yo app, the app was valued at between $5 and $10 million in July 2014.[5]

Hogeg became active in cryptocurrency, donating $1.9 million to Tel Aviv University for blockchain research and founding the Alignment Blockchain Hub. In 2017 and 2018, he led three initial coin offerings (ICOs) for his companies Sirin Labs, Stx Technologies Limited, and Leadcoin, raising over $250 million combined.[4] In June 2018, Hogeg purchased an acre of land in Kfar Shmaryahu, a suburb of Tel Aviv, for 70 million shekels (US$19.3 million).[6] He paid 15 percent of the purchase price in Bitcoin, believed to be the first real estate transaction in Israel conducted with the cryptocurrency.[6]

Hogeg has invested as well in several ventures including, Moonactive,[7][8] StoreDot[9][10] and Delek Group.[7]

Throughout his business career, Hogeg has faced lawsuits over his ventures from investors and former employees, including former members of Singulariteam.[11] Most were settled out of court with plaintiffs signing nondisclosure agreements.[11]

Tomi Cryptocurrency

In September 2022, Hogeg launched the Tomi cryptocurrency project. In an interview with a local newspaper in Marrakesh, he identified himself as the CEO of Tomi and stated that all the founders invested $10 million from their private capital.[12] By 2024, the Tomi cryptocurrency lost nearly 97% from its peak value and market cap [13]

Beitar Jerusalem F.C.

In 2021, Hogeg acquired Beitar Jerusalem F.C..[14]

On 15 July 2021, Hogeg announced the cancellation of a planned match between Beitar and FC Barcelona, after Barcelona refused to hold the event in the disputed city of Jerusalem.[15] He said that he was "a proud Jew and Israeli" and could not "betray Jerusalem".[15] In August 2022, he sold Beitar Jerusalem to Barak Abramov.[16][17]

Arrest, investigation and criminal charges

Hogeg was arrested in November 2021 over alleged sexual offenses and cryptocurrency-related fraud.[18] He was subsequently released on a $22 million bail bond to house arrest.[19] Following the arrest, Moshe's Ferrari was repossessed by the state of Israel and soon after publicly auctioned.[20][21][22]

In July 2022, Hogeg was re-arrested by the Israeli police for failing to fulfill his court ordered bail bond requirement. [23]

In August 2023, the Israeli National Fraud Investigations Unit (NAU) recommended to indict Hogeg for defrauding investors of $290 million.[24]

Also in August 2023, Israeli police announced the closure of the sexual offense case against Hogeg, stating that the investigation did not yield sufficient evidence to justify an indictment.[25]

References

  1. ^ Amit, Hagai (11 March 2016). "An Israeli Startup Guru Who Doesn't Waste Time on Modesty". Haaretz. Archived from the original on 11 February 2021. Retrieved 16 July 2021.
  2. ^ Ron, Liat (14 October 2014). "פורטפוליו משה חוגג". Globes (in Hebrew). Archived from the original on 5 June 2021. Retrieved 16 July 2021.
  3. ^ Halbfinger, David M.; Rasgon, Adam (7 December 2020). "Israeli Soccer Team, Infamous for Anti-Arab Fans, Has New Co-Owner: a Sheikh". The New York Times. Jerusalem. Archived from the original on 13 May 2021. Retrieved 16 July 2021.
  4. ^ a b c Spiro, Amy (21 November 2021). "Alleged crypto scams, sex offenses, unpaid bills: The claims against Moshe Hogeg". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 23 December 2021.
  5. ^ Shontell, Alyson. "An App That Just Says 'Yo' Has Raised $1.5 Million At A $5–10 Million Valuation". Business Insider. Retrieved 13 September 2022.
  6. ^ a b Darel, Yael (20 June 2018). "Tech Entrepreneur Makes Israel's First Real Estate Purchase With Bitcoin". Haaretz. Archived from the original on 10 September 2020. Retrieved 16 July 2021.
  7. ^ a b Hazani, Golan (9 August 2020). "Tech entrepreneur Moshe Hogeg pivots to the energy sector". CTECH - www.calcalistech.com. Retrieved 13 September 2022.
  8. ^ "'Coin Master': How the Addictive, Controversial Israeli Game Raked in a Fortune". Haaretz. Retrieved 13 September 2022.
  9. ^ "This Israeli Firm Promised to Reinvent the Battery. The World Is Still Waiting". Haaretz. Retrieved 13 September 2022.
  10. ^ Dobrovitsky, Lital (30 March 2021). "Moshe Hogeg sues Samsung Ventures over nixed StoreDot shares deal". CTECH - www.calcalistech.com. Retrieved 13 September 2022.
  11. ^ a b Weinglass, Simona (31 May 2021). "3 of Israel's most-hyped initial coin offerings were scams, ex-employees allege". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 23 December 2021.
  12. ^ https://www.calcalistech.com/ctechnews/article/ryq7yzxvh
  13. ^ https://www.coincarp.com/currencies/tomi-com/
  14. ^ Capstick, Alex (20 December 2019). "Beitar Jerusalem: How do you change 'the most racist' club in Israel?". BBC Sport. Jerusalem. Archived from the original on 19 May 2021. Retrieved 16 July 2021.
  15. ^ a b "Dispute Over Jerusalem Scuttles Israeli Club's Soccer Match With Barcelona". Haaretz. 15 July 2021. Archived from the original on 16 July 2021. Retrieved 16 July 2021.
  16. ^ "Can Barak Abramov save Israel's Beitar Jerusalem soccer club?". The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com. Retrieved 13 September 2022.
  17. ^ staff, T. O. I. "Beitar soccer club sale finalized following last minute fund-raising from abroad". www.timesofisrael.com. Retrieved 13 September 2022.
  18. ^ Breiner, Josh. "Israel arrests soccer club owner, suspected of sex offenses, cryptocurrency fraud". Haaretz.com. Archived from the original on 2 October 2022. Retrieved 7 April 2025.
  19. ^ Magid, Jacob (14 December 2021). "Hogeg freed to house arrest on $22 million bail in probe of sex crimes, crypto fraud". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 23 December 2021.
  20. ^ "הפרארי ממכרז החילוט של המשטרה - יד שלישית ממשה חוגג | כלכליסט". calcalist (in Hebrew). 9 August 2022. Retrieved 13 September 2022.
  21. ^ "Court lifts gag on Moshe Hogeg sex charges, including underage prostitution offenses". The Times of Israel.
  22. ^ "Hogeg freed to house arrest on $22 million bail in probe of sex crimes, crypto fraud". The Times of Israel.
  23. ^ "Moshe Hogeg, suspected of massive fraud, rearrested for not paying bail". The Times of Israel.
  24. ^ https://www.calcalistech.com/ctechnews/article/wzn84hkpk
  25. ^ אלקלעי, אורלי. "המשטרה ממליצה להעמיד לדין את משה חוגג". כאן | תאגיד השידור הישראלי (in Hebrew). Retrieved 7 April 2025.
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