At the end of a two-year investigation, the gendarmes of the La Farlède brigade and the Cell for the fight against illegal work and fraud (Celtif) in joint action with URSSAF, have uncovered a significant system of widespread social fraud in the temporary work group Forum Interim, whose head office is in Saint-Raphaël.
Fake pay slips
The various checks carried out showed that construction industry employees, all of foreign nationality, were receiving travel allowances even though they were housed and transported by the company.
“The net income negotiated with the employee was partly qualified as compensation on the pay slip, which made it possible to reduce accordingly the basis of contributions due to social security organizations” specifies the Draguignan public prosecutor’s office via a press release published this Monday.
For years, Forum Interim companies, with agencies in Toulon, Fréjus, Draguignan but also Nice or Marseille, have negotiated weekly salaries while creating fictitious pay slips with compensation not due to reach the salary. net” negotiated.
Real estate seized
According to the investigators’ calculations, these practices have reached “an amount of evaded contributions of 65 million euros”in addition, according to our information, some 30 million euros in rate reductions which should not have been applied if the declarations had been correct. “Fraud appeared to be the most important in Dracénois” estimates the prosecutor Pierre Couttenier.
Over the course of two years, the investigation services conducted 120 interviews and used special techniques to identify those responsible and locate the manager’s assets, hidden in various companies in France, Luxembourg and Spain. Real estate, vehicles, various pieces of furniture and luxury items were seized by the judicial authorities for a value of two million euros.
The last investigative actions were carried out last Tuesday as part of an operation which mobilized 14 gendarmes and URSSAF inspectors.
At the end of their custody, three people were referred to the public prosecutor’s office to be notified of the prosecution. Fifteen companies were prosecuted and the manager, the main defendant, was placed under judicial supervision as well as a financial director.
The hearing will be held on December 17, 2024 before the Draguignan Criminal Court.
