This case had already caused a lot of talk in France at the time, and these events are coming to the surface today, because justice has finally delivered its verdict.
In 2014, a couple from Dordogne won a nice sum at the Euromillions: 513,000 euros. Aged 59 and 61 at the time, they seek advice from a family member, their niece and her husband, who was the director of a bank branch.
The lure of profit quickly went to the head of this couple who then decided to take advantage of their uncle and aunt, as reported by NordLittoral. They arranged for the ticket to be validated in the four names, and recovered the modest sum of 450,000 euros leaving a few crumbs (63,000 euros) for the real winners.
How did they fall into the trap?
They had made the sexagenarians dangle the fact of building them a house. But the house built was in the name of the niece! The couple was therefore a tenant and had to pay 700 euros monthly. “The couple assures the elders that this combination allows them to keep their” social benefits and unemployment benefits “, one suffering from blindness and the other from a physical disability”, relates France Bleu.
At the hearing: “The exchanges are tense in January 2021 when the couple refuses to pay the rent and their niece threatens to evict them”, according to the president of the court. A complaint is then filed for abuse of weakness on a vulnerable person. But there is already nothing left of the money: the niece and the banker have repaid their own debts and bought two apartments in Toulouse.
This week, this couple was sentenced to a fine of 10,000 euros, including 4,000 suspended. He must pay 518,000 euros in damages. The house built was confiscated from them and the victims could recover it. The defendants also saw one of the two Toulouse apartments confiscated.
