INFO FRANCEINFO. An 80-year-old man victim of a million-euro fake bank advisor scam in Yvelines

An 80-year-old man living in Saint-Nom-la-Bretèche (Yvelines) was the victim of a large-scale scam, a fraud involving a fake bank advisor to the tune of one million euros, according to information from franceinfo from a source close to the matter Friday October 4. An elephant tusk and 14 Persian rugs were stolen from him, among others. Six people, five men and a woman residing in Paris and its surrounding suburbs, aged around twenty, already known for similar acts, will be tried Friday afternoon at the Versailles criminal court in immediate appearance.

Among these six suspects, one of them is suspected of having gone to the victim’s home on May 31 as a false bank advisor and of having put pressure on the retiree to extract money from him. According to a well-oiled ploy, the fake bank advisor pretended that the 80-year-old man had just been the victim of fraudulent transactions that needed to be stopped immediately. The retiree then agreed to have couriers falsely mandated by his bank come to his home to collect his bank card.

It was once there that these fake couriers realized that the victim had valuable goods at home. The fake bank advisor and the fake couriers continued their staging supposedly to protect their victim and put his most valuable assets in the safe of his bank.

In a few hours, the retiree saw several different people arrive at his home, to collect 14 Persian rugs with a unit value of 50,000 to 100,000 euros, an ivory elephant tusk purchased around fifty years ago. worth 70,000 euros, as well as jewelry. The thieves even went so far as to call in a locksmith to open a safe that belonged to the victim’s deceased wife and remove the contents. As for the retiree’s bank card, it was quickly used by members of this team for withdrawals and purchases. In total, the victim suffered damage estimated at one million euros.

Once the thieves left with their loot, the retiree notified the police. Investigators from the property crimes division of the research section (SR) of Versailles, assisted by the research brigade (BR) of Saint-Germain-en-Laye, identified the various protagonists of this theft and this scam in an organized group. The six suspects were finally arrested on Tuesday after several months of investigation. All are due to be tried Friday afternoon. Only part of the loot was found, Franceinfo learned from a source close to the matter.