Cinema, espionage, extortion
Allain Jollois was born on January 23, 1964 in Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France. It was in his native country that he became widely known. In his twenties, he commits his first scams. In 1987, he presented himself as the emissary of the President of the Republic to organize a meeting between the heads of state of France, Italy and Greece in Amiens. The young man, aged 24 at the time, lived for several months at the expense of local elected officials before being sentenced to eighteen months in prison, six of which were suspended, by the Amiens Criminal Court for fraud, usurpation of office and grievance, recalled Le Parisien last May in a long article devoted to Alain Jollois.
Over time, and despite the prison sentences against him, Alain Jollois continues his suspicious behavior by donning different hats. In particular, he poses as a representative of an American production scouting for the shooting of Steven Spielberg’s next film in France. In Saint-Malo, the crook also poses as a senior British officer, living off a man to whom he promises a position as butler.
In 2002, Alain Jollois managed to make people believe in the arrival of Julia Roberts for the filming of a short film inspired by the film Life is beautiful by Frank Capra. This alleged arrival of a Hollywood star earned Alain Jollois a two-year prison sentence by the Bourdeaux Court of Appeal.
Obviously, all this was just wind, a dream sold by Alain Jollois. As Le Parisien indicates, Alain Jollois disappeared into the wild in April 2022. But he finally reappeared, closer to home: in Charleroi. Last Sunday, Alain Jollois was arrested by the police. The man is suspected of extortion against a certain Carine, a lady who was staying at the Ibis hotel in Charleroi. According to information from the prosecution, Alain Jollois allegedly extorted the sum of several thousand euros from this victim. “He acted the same way as with his other victims. He began to take an interest in her and her life before asking for her bank card to extort her. Mr. Jollois denies the facts, affirming that the victim had agreed to the money lent. Which doesn’t seem to be the case“, explains Sandrine Vairon, division prosecutor of Charleroi.
A “weird” man
In the Black Country, Alain Jollois frequented the establishment Book or Glass in the Bourse passage. Blandine Grandchamps, owner of the café-bookstore, remembers the man who introduced himself as Andrew McGregor, having worked for the British government. “He had been visiting the café for two months. One day, he overheard a discussion concerning my older sister, who lived in Lebanon and who had to be repatriated with her husband. But he didn’t have a visa. He immediately intervened and offered to resolve the situation because he worked for the British authorities. Hopefully we declined“, smiles Blandine.
The latter found the alleged Andrew “bizarre “. “He didn’t seem dangerous, but strange. He said that he had known Louis de Funès and that he had been the neighbor of Georges Brassens. He also said that he was Scottish or even an English lord, that he worked for the government. In fact, he introduced himself friendly, gave gifts and was very generous in paying for drinks in the café. He showed interest in others.”
Blandine Grandchamps also met Carine, the supposed victim of Alain Jollois. “She explained to us that she was on the street and that he had helped her. It’s a bit surprising to learn that she would have been extorted out of several thousand euros, given her situation.“, confides the manager.
According to the prosecution, Alain Jollois will appear on Monday before the Charleroi council chamber, which will decide whether or not to extend the preventive detention of the famous French crook. The ongoing investigation will also have to determine whether the suspect has caused other victims…
