Sharon, Omri

(1964- )

   Former Likud member of the Knesset. He is the son of Ariel Sharon and Sharon's late second wife, Lily. He became involved in a scandal relating to fund-raising for his father's 1999 bid to lead the Likud Party. On 14 November 2005, he agreed to plead guilty in a plea bargain with prosecutors. He resigned from the Knesset on 3 January 2006, and his resignation became effective on 5 January. On 14 February 2006, he was sentenced to nine months in prison, a nine-month suspended sentence, and a fine of 300,000 shekels. The start of his prison term was deferred by six months because of the debilitating stroke suffered by his father on 4 January 2006. On 30 March 2006, Sharon appealed the prison sentence to the Tel Aviv district court, expressing remorse for his actions and arguing that he had already been punished by being forced to resign from the Knesset. On 25 June 2007, a Tel Aviv district court cut two months off of Sharon's nine-month prison sentence and also delayed his imprisonment for corruption and perjury to enable his lawyers to appeal a fine amounting to the equivalent of $71,000 U.S. His appeal was rejected in late January 2008 and he began his seven-month jail term on 27 February 2008.