Money is one thing. Dignity is another. “My parents promised us good bottles for Christmas. In front of the 30 guests, they took out two cases of wine from a discount brand. » The retirees thought they had acquired great wines. “I saw the shame in their eyes,” their daughter still trembles, this Tuesday, November 5, in front of the Bayonne court. A 44-year-old Angloy and his accomplice, based in Ambarès-et-Lagrave (Gironde), were tried there for abuse of weakness.
Between 2018 and 2021, the forty-year-old bought bottles at low prices from a wholesaler to resell them five to ten times their value. The clients are all of advanced age. The methods are described as insistent. “The idea that an individual could have put pressure on my mother, who suffers from Alzheimer's, is still unbearable to me,” laments another civil party. After the first delivery of bottles, the vigilance of neighbors and home helpers made it possible to ward off the sellers, who had returned to the charge. “I was forced to condemn the gate. My mother didn't understand why she found herself locked up. »
7,000 euros for six boxes
32 complaints were filed in total. 25 ultimately lead to prosecution. The victims, mainly from Landes and Pyrénées-Atlantiques, are aged between 78 and 98 years old. Most have cognitive disorders. “Some don’t remember the transaction or the price paid,” explains the president, Mélanie Mistral. One of them, aged 86, was wrung out for more than six months. For 14,000 euros of table wines. Another octogenarian paid 7,000 euros, in three checks, for 36 bottles. Wines cost 6 to 16 euros in any supermarket.
“I have made hundreds and hundreds of deliveries. 32 complaints, I find that reasonable”
The total damage is estimated at 40,000 euros. “I was there to deliver, I ignored the price,” explains the main defendant. The former used car salesman displays a foolproof gab. In a warm and confident voice, he confirms the minimum. Serves as an explanation for the rest. “The prices were high, it’s true. Like when I buy a parasol for 10 euros on the market, when you can find the same elsewhere for 3 euros. » His role would have been limited to taking the check, possibly taking the wine down to the cellar. “It lasted five minutes, we didn't hang around because there could be eight deliveries during the day. »
Lambert Companies
For investigators from the Bayonne research brigade, he did more. In a skillfully maintained opacity. “We no longer know who is doing what, or who sold what,” summarizes the prosecutor, Jean-Claude Belot. The police linked the defendant to nine companies in three years. Some recorded under his own name. Others under that of a homeless person suspected of being a straw man. These companies contracted with a call center in Morocco. Customers were approached by telephone. “The prices were negotiated from Morocco, which sent me the orders. I respected the prices and quantities indicated,” the defendant confines himself to specifying.
A method of operation adopted by other companies throughout France. “The call center advised us to put 'Lambert' in our company names. Pretending to be Lambert (sic) made it easier to collect money. » The Moroccan call center received between 50 and 75% of the sales proceeds. “In just two months, you paid him 90,000 euros,” illustrates Jean-Claude Belot. The defendant does not dismantle. “It’s normal. I've made hundreds and hundreds of deliveries. 32 complaints, I find that reasonable. I always left my business card with my personal number and my name. »
When questioned, the director of the Moroccan call center puts forward another version. “He claims that you selected the clients, called them back after canvassing. According to him, older people were not targeted, but they were more easily hooked. »
For the prosecution, the abuse of weakness is well constituted. In addition to compensation for the civil parties, the prosecutor requests eighteen months in prison, six of which will be suspended for the main defendant. Eight months suspended for the other, much less involved. The defense attorney goes back to basics. “We are only responsible for our own actions,” says M.e Antoine Tugas. “We can turn the case in all directions, say that the confusion was maintained, the harmful act took place when the sale was sealed. » In other words, on the phone with Morocco. The lawyer pleads for release. The court will deliver its deliberations on December 10.
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