Aged 42, the defendant already has forty-two entries on his criminal record. He did not make the exact count but he thinks he spent twenty years in prison. Mainly for property damage.
His two accomplices, who are 37 and 43 years old, also prosecuted for acts of fraud, are not present at the bar. Only the forties, heard by videoconference from his prison, is there to explain himself.
“I’m sorry for all the victims,” repeats twice the defendant who has trouble breaking away from taking narcotics, especially heroin. “I fell into it, it’s an endless chain. In Montluçon, I only had stories”!
A robbery in a dwelling house
His latest dates back to April 22, 2021. On that day, the main defendant broke into a dwelling house in Montluçon, stole a digital tablet, which he will resell for €40, surgical masks, and above all a checkbook which the victim will not notice the theft until a few days later.
Sentenced to 18 months in prison for money laundering via money transfers from Montluçon (Allier) to Côte d’Ivoire
From there, the forty-year-old and his accomplices will have a field day to clear the checks between April 22 and May 4, 2021. The list of victims is impressive: two banks, a car garage, a gas station in several times, a hotel-restaurant, supermarkets, individuals… In the department of Allier but also in the Cher.
Money in their account
Scams also materialize in another way. Criminals fund their own bank accounts and withdraw cash before checks are flagged as stolen.
In this game, thanks to four deposits of €400, €1,500 (twice) and €5,000 from one of the accomplices, the forties was able to recover €1,700 in cash. “All probationary sentences have been revoked. Chances, we gave him a certain number, ”found the deputy prosecutor.
The criminal court sentenced the 42-year-old man to three years in prison, including eighteen months suspended. A detention order, accompanied by a ban on staying in the Allier for three years, has been decided. For his part, the 43-year-old man, who has seventeen convictions to his credit, received three years in prison and the 37-year-old one year in prison.
Fabrice Redon
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