Sara Netanyahu, wife of prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, has been accused of spending more than $100,000 for hundreds of meals supplied by restaurants between 2010 and 2013.

This is against the regulations, which stipulate you cannot use government money to pay for catered food when you already have, as Netanyahu does, a cook paid for by public funds in your home.

She was charged with fraud and breach of trust, as well as aggravated fraudulent receipts of goods, according to the indictment released by the ministry. If convicted of the charge, she could face up to five years in prison.

Sara Netanyahu has denied any wrongdoing.

Her lawyers said the accusations were “ludicrous” and that the restriction on ordering food to the home were invalid, adding that it was not the prime minister’s wife who had ordered the meals but others.

The statement said: “There was no fraud or breach of trust or fraudulent receipt of items, or any other offence.

“The prime minister’s wife, who is not a public servant, did not know the procedures and was found to have spoken truthfully when answering questions during a lie detector test.”

The prime minister has called the allegations against his wife “absurd” and “unfounded”.