A self-claimed “sovereign citizen” charged with fraudulently taking a $13 million Buckhead strip mall is now in the DeKalb County jail.
Eliyshuwa Yisrael, 40, was arrested in Florida in early February and extradited to DeKalb on Sunday, according to jail records.
Last year, the DeKalb County district attorney issued a warrant for Yisrael on charges of violating the Racketeer Influenced and Corruption Organizations Act, mortgage fraud, burglary, theft by taking and false statements.
DeKalb prosecutors allege Yisrael was the leader of a group of sovereign citizens, described as domestic terrorists, that worked together to steal, or take over, vacant homes throughout the metro area.
Prosecutors say Yisrael and several other suspects committed mortgage fraud when they illegally moved into a $1 million south DeKalb home and other properties in the metro area. He is also connected to the theft of a shopping center at 2140 Peachtree Road in Buckhead, prosecutors said.
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