A man in his fifties was sentenced to four years in prison by the Fontainebleau Criminal Court. He was accused of participating in a crypto scam that caused a French citizen living in Château-Landon (Seine-et-Marne) to lose 300,000 Euros.
4 years in prison for this 50-year-old swindler
On February 9, 2023, the criminal court of Fontainebleau sentenced a 50-year-old man to four years in prison, two of which were firm. Our colleagues from the newspaper Le Parisien, who provided the information, did not reveal the name of the convict. In pre-trial detention since last December, the man was prosecuted for swindling in an organized gang.
Specifically, the convicted man is accused of participating in a cryptocurrency scam. Indeed, he was part of a team of three people who managed to fraudulently extract 300,000 Euros from a Frenchman. The gang was acting mainly from Israel where the main suspect is still located.
A Frenchman victim of a 300,000 Euros scam
The victim of the scam is a Frenchman living in Château-Landon (Seine-et-Marne). According to Le Parisien, the victim’s funds had been blocked on a crypto platform that had gone bankrupt. The three scammers presented themselves as a company that had taken over the bankrupt platform. In this capacity, they notably made the victim believe that they could help him recover his blocked funds. The scammers also promised the victim that the recovered money could be reinvested in a crypto project that would yield a significant return on investment.
Faced with the scammers’ enticing promises, the victim ended up taking the bait. Thus, the man provided the scammers with what they asked for. These included bank documents, proof of identity or residence, access to the private computer, etc. With these elements, the scammers were able to take out loans of up to 75,000 euros. In addition, they managed to take 225,000 euros from the victim’s bank accounts after installing malware on his computer.
The victim discovered very late that he had been tricked by the fraudsters. Last June, the victim went to the gendarmerie to report the scam. On that occasion, the process of searching for suspects was launched. As a result, the convicted 50-year-old was arrested in December.
This case reminds us once again that caution should be exercised before any crypto investment. Scammers have a knack for offering gains far above the benefits due. Don’t be fooled so easily. Do your own research before jumping into any crypto project.
I dream of a world where every citizen has total control over themselves, including their finances. I believe that Bitcoin is one of the tools that will achieve this revolution. Since 2019, I am learning about this cryptocurrency and spreading the word around.
