“Some put all their savings”, more than 1,300 victims of cybercrime await the opening of an extraordinary trial

This is an extraordinary trial which begins in Nancy from this Monday, October 21, 2024. Twenty-eight people are on trial for organized gang cybercrime. More than 1,300 victims have been recorded throughout France and more than 800 civil parties are expected. The trial will take place at the Palais des Congrès given its scale.

150 lawyers, 28 defendants, 28 million euros in damages, 810 civil parties and 1,310 known victims. This trial is billed as the biggest trial of the year. A major trial called “Red Card”. It begins in Nancy from Monday October 21 until Friday November 15, 2024. We sought to know the state of mind of the victims before the opening of this trial.

Purchasing cryptocurrencies, diamonds and even fake agents of football players… The scammers operated on several domains to embezzle victims’ money. Since 2016, Guy Grandgirard and his team have been working on this case. He is the head of the French Consumer Defense Association (ADC).

“It all started when our inboxes were flooded and that intrigued us… We started an investigation into these cryptocurrency and diamond purchasing sites. And we realized that there were usurpations of company names or fictitious names”, explains the president of the association.

“Certain sites said they had existed for 10 years when when we carried out our research, they had only existed for three months. Their calls to victims were dematerialized on untraceable servers. There was a VPN network. Everything was camouflaged”continues the consumer defender.

From Monday, the ADC association is becoming a civil party in this trial for organized gang fraud. A complex system with scammers specializing in cryptocurrencies or the quality of diamonds in order to convince victims.

There, we have perfectly trained professionals, it’s mental manipulation!

Guy Grandgirard, president of ADC France

“We have become a civil party to access the criminal files… This allows us to see what really happened and to be able to warn our members. There will also be case law, we will be able to represent it in the legal framework later “, explains Guy Grandgirard, president of the association. “I expect from this trial that we recognize the status of the victims, and also a sanction.”

The France Victimes association will also be present, to help and reassure individuals coming from all over France to attend the hearings in Nancy, at the Palais des Congrès.

“We are here to answer victims’ questions and support them,” explains Anne-Sophie Gavriloff, president of France Victimes 54. “Not all victims have filed a civil claim and if they do not do so, they cannot receive compensation.”

According to the law, until the trial opens, victims can become civil parties. The association will be there to fill out the files. From June 2024, she sent letters to victims to warn them of the trial.

“The second strong point is the pleading days of the civil parties. Called to testify, they find themselves weakened.” A psychologist will be mobilized on site.

There are people who have invested all their savings and find themselves weakened, we will support them throughout the legal process.

Anne-Sophie Gavriloff, president of France Victimes 54

“The idea is that they feel confident. This trial will stir up a lot of things. Some victims are ashamed, because they were defrauded. There are victims who have invested thousands of euros.” concludes the young woman.

After the deliberation, France Victimes will also help with the preparation of compensation files. The civil parties will be able to appeal to the Guarantee Fund if the convicted persons are not solvent. But the ceilings are very low, they will not be equal to the damage, estimated at nearly 30 million euros in this case.

A telephone line is set up available to victims throughout the trial: 07 50 54 59 32 or [email protected]