With no less than 500 lotteries organized since 2013 in the Gironde department, around 1.5 million euros, out of the more than four million euros in revenue, would have finally landed in the personal accounts of the couple in question.
He won’t organize any more. Thirty months’ imprisonment, 18 of which were suspended, were requested this Monday in Bordeaux against a Gironde lotto organizer and his partner, suspected of having embezzled some 1.5 million euros in winnings to the detriment of charitable associations. The criminal court reserved its decision until August 9. Jonathan L., says “Jojo the lotto king» and his partner Céline M. are being prosecuted in particular for “fraud, money laundering and breach of trust by organized gangs”, “tax fraud”, “hidden work” and for various offenses against gambling legislation. In France, the organization of lotos is only authorized within the framework of charitable actions and within a restricted circle.
The 33-year-old presenter, whose solid reputation attracted local “community” of several hundred players in each lottery, admitted the facts at the bar: “There was the lure of profit (…) I did it as close as possible to legality”. “Recently we had quite large batches”justified the defendant, white polo shirt and clean-shaven beard. “Prizes of 100,000 euros?” asks him, taken aback, the president of the court Cyril Vidalie. Response from «Jojo» : “No, vouchers of 5,000, 10,000 euros, an Audi A1”.
A “passion” transformed into “business”
Jonathan L. had started organizing these lotteries after the death of his father, to collect donations for the Bergonié Institute, the regional center for the fight against cancer based in Bordeaux, and an association belonging to a head of department at the CHU Pellegrin in Bordeaux. The lawyers of Jonathan L. and his partner deplored a “image damage”. on «passion» transformed into «business»particularly since Covid with the organization of online lottos on the Twitch platform, explained the accused on the stand.
With no less than 500 lottos organized since 2013 in the Gironde department, around 1.5 million euros, out of the more than four million euros in revenue, would have finally landed in the couple’s personal accounts. “The spirit of the law is two to three lotteries per year, here we are at two to three per week”underlined Perrine Lannelongue, from the public prosecutor. “We are far from the school lottery or the football club”. “There are no regulations” for the service providers, justified the lawyers of the organizers of these lotteries, Maîtres Arnaud Dupin and Louise Durin. And point “a disproportionate sentence” for a couple “modest”, “without heritage”.
