New York. Ilit Raz, an Israeli startup founder and former chief executive officer of human-resources technology company Joonko, has pleaded guilty to allegedly defrauding U.S. investors. The 40-year-old admitted to securities fraud, acknowledging that she provided investors with false information about the company’s revenue, number of customers and identities of those customers.
According to U.S. prosecutors, Raz induced investors to put around ₹225 crore into Joonko during 2021 and 2022. During that period, she allegedly claimed that Joonko’s customer base included several major global companies. These were described as a credit card company, a sports apparel brand, an online travel company and a luxury fashion brand. Investigators later alleged that several of those companies were not actually Joonko customers.
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Joonko claimed annual revenue of around $90 million, or approximately ₹800 crore, and cited companies including Apple, Adidas, Nike, American Express and Booking.com as customers. However, investigators alleged that the company’s actual revenue was substantially lower than what had been represented to investors.
Joonko promoted an artificial intelligence-based product designed to help employers identify and recruit job candidates from diverse backgrounds. The company raised around $30 million, or approximately ₹267 crore, from venture capital investors.
The allegations also involve claims that Raz misrepresented Joonko’s financial position. In 2023, one of the company’s investors became suspicious about its financial figures and asked Raz for bank records. Raz allegedly provided a bank statement showing that Joonko had an average balance of more than $5 million.
Investigators later determined that the bank statement was allegedly forged and that the company’s actual account balance was millions of dollars lower. Less than a week later, Raz allegedly sent the same investor purchase orders that were also fictitious. Investigators said the documents contained forged signatures of people whose companies were not actually Joonko customers.
U.S. authorities filed an indictment against Raz in 2024. A separate civil lawsuit was also filed by the U.S. securities regulator. Joonko was incorporated as a U.S. company, while Raz had been living in Israel, leading to the federal case being pursued in New York.
Following her guilty plea, Raz will be sentenced by Judge Alvin Hellerstein of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. Securities fraud carries a maximum sentence of up to 20 years in prison. Raz is currently in New York and is believed to have travelled to the United States as part of proceedings related to her plea agreement.
U.S. authorities have maintained that misleading investors about a company’s financial condition, customers and business performance in order to obtain investment constitutes serious financial fraud. The court will now determine the sentence to be imposed after Raz’s guilty plea.
About the author — Suvedita Nath is a science student with a growing interest in cybercrime and digital safety. She writes on online activity, cyber threats, and technology-driven risks. Her work focuses on clarity, accuracy, and public awareness.
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