Spy vs. Stablecoin: U.S. Seminary Student Charged in Iran Crypto Intel Scheme 🕵️‍♂️

An American citizen enrolled at an ultra-Orthodox seminary in Jerusalem has been indicted on espionage charges, in what Israeli authorities describe as the first prosecution of a U.S. national in a widening crackdown on Israelis recruited to spy for Iran. Eli Lavon, 21, was formally charged Friday with two counts of contact with a foreign agent and 14 counts of communicating information that could benefit an enemy, according to an indictment filed by the State Attorney's Office.

Prosecutors allege the case began in November 2025, when Lavon, while visiting relatives in the United States, responded to a job posting on the Telegram messaging app. A month later, as he was returning to Israel, someone claiming to represent Iranian intelligence made contact and began directing him to carry out surveillance tasks, the indictment says. Those tasks allegedly included filming an abandoned building in a religious Jerusalem neighborhood and recording footage inside a grocery store. In one instance, prosecutors say, Lavon was told to conceal a cigarette pack containing a note reading "The job is complete" in a trash can at a Jerusalem shopping mall. He was paid in cryptocurrency for the material he provided, communicating through two Telegram accounts and three phones, according to the charges.

After cutting off that contact, prosecutors say Lavon began communicating with a second Iran-linked handler, hiding a flash drive wrapped in currency at a restaurant and sending a photo of his passport. That handler pressed him for names of fellow seminary students, which Lavon declined to provide, the indictment states. Prosecutors say his combined payments from both handlers totaled roughly $1,379. "This indictment illustrates how foreign intelligence agencies attempt to exploit the digital sphere to identify, recruit, and operate individuals from within Israel," said Ronit Shentzer Yaakobi of the Jerusalem District Attorney's Office, "and how important it is to remain vigilant and immediately sever contact when approached in this manner."

Lavon's attorney, Raz Bar Tzvi, said being contacted online by a foreign actor does not make someone a spy and argued the facts described in the indictment do not support the charges. He declined to say how his client would plead. Separately, two Israelis have been charged with using classified information to make bets about the nation's military operations on Polymarket, the prediction market platform, according to local reports.

Prosecutors alleged the army reservist accessed classified information about Israel's planned attack on Iran in June 2025 and then shared it with the civilian to place multiple Polymarket bets. Israel has indicted roughly 60 people on Iran-related espionage charges since 2023, and officials say several sites allegedly surveilled by such recruits were later struck in Iranian missile attacks.