Based in Colombiers, near Saintes, this 77-year-old former wine grower was tried this Thursday by the Saintais criminal court for carrying out concealed work, money laundering and illegal exercise of the profession of doctor.
This last head of prevention will not have resisted the requisitions of the public prosecutor's office, which was at the origin of the prosecution. Built on “three testimonies”, this offense was based only on “light elements” by the admission of the public prosecutor who immediately requested acquittal on this subject.
The file submitted to the judges was therefore only a “big money affair”, quipped Me Thibaut Kurzawa, the lawyer of the Colombiers healer who “did not claim to cure, but only to relieve”. Daniel M.'s “exceptional” gifts for treating burns, shingles and eczema attracted a large clientele. In the septuagenarian's diaries seized by investigators, more than 5,000 appointments were noted in 2022. In 2023, Daniel M. noted more than 4,100 sessions before being placed in police custody in mid-September and ceasing his work. Since then, Urssaf and Public Finance have estimated their joint damage at nearly 570,000 euros, since 2017, based on a consultation at 20 euros. The prices were free, replied the healer and his lawyer, also arguing that attendance had exploded after the health crisis linked to covid. “No one knows exactly how much he won,” insisted Me Thibaut Kurzawa.
Up to 40,000 euros per month
The investigators went through the accounts: eleven were found, eight of which were still active. Some received up to 40,000 euros per month. Cash withdrawals, on the other hand, could be counted on the fingers of your hands. In September 2023, the retiree had two life insurance policies with capital of more than 1.2 million euros and numerous booklets of all kinds accounting for tens of thousands of euros. Daniel M. owned five luxury vehicles estimated at 335,000 euros. Gold bars – 3.7 kilos – were also found, some dug up “three meters deep”.
Accused of having “cheated Urssaf and defrauded national solidarity”, the healer from Colombiers assured that his fortune came from an inheritance and a life of work as a wine grower and distiller: “Every year, I kept of stock. When I retired, I sold everything for almost 1.4 million euros.”
The prosecution requested a sentence of 4 years' imprisonment, including 3 years suspended, and the possibility of serving this sentence at home, with an electronic bracelet.
The confiscation of the sums and goods seized – more than 750,000 euros to date – was also requested, as well as a fine to be determined, in favor of the Public Treasury.
The Saintes criminal court will deliver its deliberations on February 27, 2025.
