They were found guilty of defrauding 62 priests from across France, between 2020 and 2024. They telephoned their victims and posed as parishioners or relatives of parishioners in need.
franceinfo – with France Bleu Normandie
Radio France
Published on 07/11/2024 15:37
Reading time: 1min
Eight people were sentenced on Thursday, November 7, to sentences ranging from eight months suspended to six years in prison for having scammed several dozen priests, France Bleu Normandie learned from the criminal court of Le Havre (Seine-Maritime).
They were found guilty of defrauding 62 priests from across France, between 2020 and 2024. A ninth defendant was acquitted in this case. Their modus operandi was well established: they telephoned their victims and posed as parishioners or relatives of parishioners in need. The men of the Church agreed to give them money, for a loss of 450,000 euros.
Among the defendants, two twin brothers are well known to the courts, since they have already been sentenced for similar acts in 2021. One of the two, Kévin G., a 35-year-old from Le Havre, is also considered by investigators as the mastermind of the scam. He organized the scam from his cell in Val-de-Reuil prison (Eure), where he was serving his first sentence of 5 years in prison for having already taken 150,000 euros from 29 priests.
This sponsor was again sentenced, this time to six years in prison. His brother gets three years in prison, one year of which must be served under an electronic bracelet. The two brothers had learned their fraud technique from their father, himself convicted of defrauding old priests.
