Justice suspects the two men of having concealed the activities of people received under emergency accommodation and of having employed minors.
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Two managers of Emmaüs in Tarn-et-Garonne, the director and his deputy director, were indicted in particular for concealed work, France Bleu Occitanie learned from the Montauban Public Prosecutor’s Office on Thursday June 27.
At the beginning of the month, the Emmaüs community in Tarn-et-Garonne was targeted by a preliminary investigation for concealed work and searches were carried out in the four branches of the association. Following this investigation, two of the leaders were placed in police custody on Tuesday June 18. They were then presented to an investigating judge then indicted on Thursday and placed under judicial supervision.
Justice suspects the association of having concealed the activities of people received under emergency accommodation. She is also accused of employing minors. The prosecution indicates that during the searches, several people engaged in hidden work were discovered.
The director and deputy director of the Emmaüs 82 association were then placed in police custody and then presented to an investigating judge. They are indicted for: non-existent or insufficient remuneration for the work of several vulnerable or dependent people, including at least one minor; concealed work committed against vulnerable people and breach of trust committed to the detriment of an association calling on the public to raise funds for humanitarian or social assistance.
Their assets were seized as a precautionary measure and searches took place at their homes. Christian Calmejane, the director of Emmaüs Tarn-et-Garonne, had already been tried with his deputy in November 2023, suspected of having participated in the hole in the association’s treasury estimated at 57,000 euros. They were finally acquitted by the Montauban court. They will be retried for embezzlement as will their wives in this case, since the Montauban public prosecutor appealed the court’s decision on Wednesday January 17.
For the lawyer of the director of Emmaüs 82, Me Isabelle Schoenacker-Rossi, this is a “alignment of the planets which is still quite surprising” because according to her, the association has been in the crosshairs since the adoption of the Darmanin law.