Hardly believable story than that of a Toulonnaise, who experienced the bad luck of being wrongly suspected, as part of a police investigation.
Not only did she have a difficult day at the central police station, but in addition, a large sum of money that she kept at home was seized by the investigators.
The amounts involved are not anecdotal, because it is almost 80,000 euros in small denominations, which she kept in a shoebox. Very recklessly.
Quickly whitewashed, exonerated, the 51-year-old Toulonnaise was able to attest to the legal origin of the funds. However, that was not enough to get him to recover his own money.
A donation in due form
Three months after the seizure, Najat (the first name has been changed) remains in a very precarious financial situation. A height. The record is indeed amazing.
It all starts in October 2021, with a summons to the central police station in Toulon. Najat goes there, quite anxious.
“Free Audition” is it written on the mail, for a matter of “theft from a residential premises”. She is suspected of having stolen 500 euros, she is told.
But very quickly, and quite inexplicably, the tone hardens and Najat finds himself in handcuffs.
Taken to her home, where her home is searched, she sees a policeman returning from her daughter’s room, a black card in his hands. The same one that is filled with small envelopes, lined with tickets.
Najat thinks she is in bad shape because she is living a nightmare. She cries out her innocence and her good faith. The money is seized.
Obviously, nearly 80,000 euros of banknotes, in small denominations, in a shoebox, are likely to intrigue.
However, Najat is easily explained. “It was a donation that was made to me in June 2021. I showed the papers! It was given to me, to help me embark on a professional project. To help me ‘get out.” She is not believed, not heard.
In her lawyer’s office, she again shows the document stamped by the tax authorities, “a declaration of manual gifts”, which certifies the origin of the funds and their declaration in good and due form. The donation was made by wire transfer. Nothing hidden.
Recently, Najat graduated as a nurse’s aide, “It’s a new life that had to begin for me”. As if this promise of a better future had been stolen from him. An affront.
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“No one believes my story”
Najat admits that she had “don’t trust banks“and had preferred to withdraw the money from her donation, in installments of 1,500 euros, several times a week. A madness, she understood today.
His lawyer Me Philippe Berthet is active in the meanders of the police and the judiciary, because the seized money has been deposited in the coffers of the organization responsible for the seizure of criminal assets.
Criminal. The word precisely makes Najat jump, smiling face, suddenly on the verge of tears. “They treated me like a criminal, that’s it! What I experienced was humiliation. They came home, they humiliated me.”
Look for food parcels
In her early fifties, the Toulonnaise has low incomes and the money seized is vital to her, including in her daily life.
“She fell into great social precariousness, she goes to popular aid, exclaims Me Berthet. Moreover, she is in immense moral distress. Today, the sums deposited must be returned to him as soon as possible.”
Najat stifles a sob. She did not dare to appear with her family at Christmas, she was left alone. Too shameful.
“Around me, people don’t believe my story. People think I’m crazy, or a liar. Fortunately, my lawyer supports me.”
Since she received a donation, the social benefits she received were cut off. But now she has nothing.
“I was walking down the street with my head held high. I find myself picking up food parcels. I want my money back.”
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