The former Penthouse model accused of defrauding older men has retained an Israeli attorney who is seeking her extradition to Israel, one day before a judge is set to determine whether she is mentally competent to stand trial.
Attorney Tai Sharki told The Post that he is working to secure the release of former model Adva Lavie from the Los Angeles County Jail. Lavie has been held there since Beverly Hills police arrested her in July after finding her without her court-ordered ankle monitor.
Sharki, who previously served a lengthy prison sentence, said Lavie hired him “just a couple days ago” and characterized her time behind bars as “traumatic.”
“My main goal is to connect her with politicians. Israel has the political power to bring her to Israel,” Sharki said.
The criminal defense attorney also claimed that Israeli officials know about Lavie’s case and that representatives from the country’s consulate were being sent to assist her.
“They just heard about it. If Israeli officials would like to help, it could go very fast,” Sharki said.
Lavie faces six felony counts and a potential 10-year prison sentence over allegations that she used dating apps to steal from older men. After her arrest in March, she was released on bail under strict conditions, including GPS monitoring.
“In Israel, for those crimes, it would probably only be one or two years,” Sharki claimed.
Lavie was previously engaged to billionaire Steven Cloobeck, who ended the relationship earlier this year amid the fallout from her arrest.
Lavie and Cloobeck were dining at Beverly Hills restaurant Avra on July 28 when police arrested her after she was reportedly seen without her ankle monitor.
The monitor was later discovered at the nearby luxury Peninsula Hotel. The episode marked the latest alleged violation of Lavie’s bail conditions.
Los Angeles Judge Diego Edber had previously issued warnings over other alleged infractions, including Lavie’s possession of an Israeli passport and travel outside Los Angeles County.
Following the ankle-monitor incident, Edber ordered Lavie jailed and revoked her bail.
Sharki said Lavie has not been eating in jail. “She weighs 45 kilos, 99 pounds. She doesn’t eat because of kosher issues,” he claimed.
“She is dealing with antisemitism. There’s a camera on her all the time. She is traumatized,” he added.
According to Sharki, Israeli law generally prevents a person from being extradited from the United States before sentencing, although he said Lavie could potentially be transferred for “humanitarian purposes.”
Sharki also said Lavie is an Israeli citizen but acknowledged that he was unsure of her status in the United States. “She looks exotic, but she’s 100% Israeli,” he said.
Lavie is undergoing an evaluation by Dr. Tumu, according to her other attorney, Jeremy Lessem. “He happens to be a very well-respected doctor whom the courts trust,” Lessem told The Post.
Lavie is scheduled to appear in a Hollywood courtroom Friday, when a judge is expected to rule on whether she is competent to stand trial.
Since her incarceration, the model has publicly turned against her former fiancé, Cloobeck, even though he had been financing her legal defense following her arrest.
She called her porn star ex-husband Eden Ives and discussed “using the f–k out of” Cloobeck’s American Express card, according to detectives.
She also said she would testify against the billionaire in his upcoming witness tampering case.
Cloobeck also faces 10 years for allegedly contacting witnesses in Lavie’s case and asking them not to testify. “I’m not sure if she is still in touch with Steven,” Sharki added.
