Israeli top model Bar Refaeli convicted of tax evasion

An Israeli court convicted top modelBar Refaelion Monday on four counts of tax offenses, capping a prolonged tax evasion case against her and her family that sullied the image of a once beloved national icon.

Refaeli, who in the past dated Hollywood actor Leonardo DiCaprio, pleaded guilty to giving false statements about her periods of overseas residence in order to evade Israeli taxes.

She was fined $730,000and ordered to pay arrears, according to a transcript from the Tel Aviv magistrates court.

Israeli citizens who are not residents are exempt from reporting income from outside the country to Israel's tax authorities.

Her mother, TzipiRefaeli, was also convicted on multiple tax charges. She will serve 16 months in prison and was ordered to pay 2.5 million shekelsin addition to tax arrears.

The two had pleaded guilty in plea bargain agreements.

The ruling ends a long-running case in whichBarRefaeliwas first arrested and questioned in December 2015.

The swimsuit model stirred controversy when she evaded her two years of mandatory Israeli military service by marrying a friend of her father's, only to divorce him a short while later.

She is now married to Israeli businessman Adi Ezra.

According to a a plea bargain agreement they signed with authorities last month, Refaeli is to serve nine months of community service while her mother will be sent to prison for 16 months.

The prolonged case, built around the celebrity model's worldwide income and the family's attempts to downplay her ties to Israel, damaged her well-crafted public image as an informal ambassador for the country.

Still, she remains a popular TV personality and pitch-woman whose image is ubiquitous on highway billboards throughout the country. Last year, she hosted the Eurovision Song Contest in Tel Aviv.

The heart of the case revolves around Refaeli's residence earlier this decade when she gallivanted around the world in high-profile modeling campaigns, graced the cover of the Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition and had a lengthy romantic relationship with actor Leonardo DiCaprio.

Israeli tax law determines residency primarily upon whether the person spent most of the calendar year in the country. Refaeli claimed that she hadn't and therefore did not have to declare her worldwide income in certain years.
But prosecutors rejected her claim and charged her with providing incorrect tax information.

In previous appeals, an Israeli court ruled that Refaeli's relationship with DiCaprio did not qualify as a family unitand therefore she could not claim his American residence to avoid paying the full taxes she owed.

Refaeli's lawyers said the plea bargain proved she hadn't intentionally evaded tax payments. Refaeli's mother, who also acted as her agent, was charged with failure to report income, avoiding paying taxes and aiding someone else in evading tax payments.

The indictment said she signed leases for her daughter under the names of other family members to blur Refaeli's actual residency status and refrained from declaring her own income as her daughter's agent.