The former manager of rapper Gims, ex-member of Sexion d'Assaut, was sentenced Monday by the Criminal Court of Créteil to twenty-four months in prison, twelve of which were suspended for having defrauded nearly 300,000 euros from Universal Music France between 2014 and 2016.
He was also fined 50,000 euros and will serve his sentence in the form of house arrest.
Three other defendants were sentenced at the end of the same trial to sentences of six months imprisonment to twelve months suspended, while three others were released.
Read also Gims finally announces the release of a single from the Sexion d'Assaut
Between 2014 and 2016, Universal Music paid dozens of invoices
"without justification"
and actually corresponding to
"no service"
for travel, studio recordings or photo shoots, recalled in May during the hearing the president of the tribunal.
At the heart of this scam we find a former manager of the label Monstre Marin Corporation, created by rapper Gims.
To read also "Proud to collaborate with Valérie Pécresse": Gims shows its support for the Regionals
In 2015, Gims called on this “label manager” to help him in particular to produce a new album,
Djuna Family
.
The investigation will show that false invoices were also produced for this project, which was ultimately aborted.
Other projects, including one with singer Vitaa, have also been the subject of "
false invoices
", according to investigators.
"It is he (the manager, Editor's note) who really took advantage of this offense, the one who is in a position of strength, who was able to impose his will,"
said the prosecutor during her indictment.
At the helm, the defendant, who is at the head of several companies providing services for artists like Vitaa or singer Bramsito, declared not to have committed any wrongdoing.
“Never in my life have I made false invoices.
It's a particular environment: I establish a budget for an album and a valid management control.
My role is to make the system more fluid. ”
"Universal releases budget lines for my client who uses providers"
, argued during the hearing his lawyer, Me Yann Le Bras, who had pleaded for release on the grounds that
"no offense (was) materialized"
.
"Even if the process was unusual, I did not see any wrongdoing, for me there was a form of logic"
, explained for his part a sound engineer, provider of this label manager and also warned.
