Where did M'Hamed H. go?
Why did he give up everything overnight?
Dozens of students, their families and teachers have been demanding accountability since the private prep manager disappeared.
He just warned a director of studies that classes would not resume in January, without providing explanations, without paying the staff, or reimbursing the sometimes considerable sums paid by parents.
Angry, families and teachers accused him of “taking off with the fund” and filed a complaint.
A collective action is now in preparation.
Leya, 18, had placed all her hopes in the Architektôn preparation course to succeed in the competitions for architecture schools.
During the first semester, the student is delighted: the courses interest her, the atmosphere between classmates is joyful.
But on January 5, everything collapsed.
The director of studies informs them of the sudden end of classes.
“I don't sleep, I'm no longer in school, I've never felt such stress before,” despairs the young woman with long black hair, who lives with her parents in Yvelines.
Salomé, his mother, worries: “What will become of our children?
Which school will they go to?
» The bill is steep: the school year cost 6,980 euros, paid by check this summer.
“I inform you that classes will not resume until further notice”
Sixty-five other students studied full-time in this prep school located in the heart of Paris, in the 3rd arrondissement.
“Some people rented apartments on purpose!
» specifies Leya.
There are also high school graduates who had paid for internships or weekly classes.
In all, indicates Bertrand, the director of studies at Architektôn, nearly 150 students are concerned.
He also demands money from M'Hamed H.
Like the dozen temporary teachers, he has not been paid since October.
“In November, MH told me:
it will come
.
In December, no more response.
» On the night of January 4 to 5, he finally received an email.
“Due to serious difficulties currently encountered by the company PREPA ENSEIGNA (
on which Architektôn depends
), I inform you that the courses provided by the Architektôn prep will not resume until further notice,” simply writes the manager.
Also read: Parcoursup: are preparatory classes still worth it?
Same dismay at Vet'Etudes, a program managed by M'Hamed H. and intended to prepare for the entrance exam to veterinary schools.
“We lost money, that’s one thing.
But leaving students like that, preparing for the job of their dreams, it revolts me,” storms Céline, a nurse from Val-d’Oise.
For 2,980 euros, her daughter was to benefit from weekly lessons until the competitions in April.
Except that these stopped in mid-December.
“We were no longer paid!
explains Abdelmonem, professor of maths and physics.
It's disgusting.
A scam !
»
“The structure lacked a little organization, but nothing suspicious”
Other preparations are affected.
Among them is Edulide, which offers private lessons with the aim of integrating “grandes écoles”, or Caravelle Academy, supposed to prepare for “the best universities in the world”.
Marie was responsible for recruitment there for a year, first full-time then part-time from June, at the request of her employer.
From Dubai, where she lives, the young woman confirms to us that business deteriorated from October onwards.
“M'Hamed H. became very distant, then downright aggressive, before cutting contact.
»
Aged around thirty, the entrepreneur is at the head of several companies: Prepa Enseigna, which owns Architektôn;
Peces which includes Edulide, Vet'Etudes, IABD (English training) and Ads Institute (Google referencing);
Almalia and her DSCG preparation (Higher Diploma in Accounting and Management).
On the Internet, the entrepreneur claims to be a graduate of Paris Dauphine, in Master Finance and Master International Business.
The few people who met him before working for him describe a “friendly, charismatic” man.
“The structure lacked a little organization, but nothing suspicious.
He wanted things to work out better,” recalls Bertrand, who met him in April 2023 in a coworking space in Paris.
His Facebook profile shows a smiling and traveling young man, posing in front of the skyscrapers of Dubai, a beach in Malta, here in Brooklyn, there in a street in Algiers.
“These people (presented on the site) were not part of our teachers”
Clear formatting, effective writing style, positive reviews… The platforms of the different preps are very similar.
“It seemed serious to us,” says Sandrine, whose son Lucas is one of the aggrieved Architektôn students.
The site is very well referenced, the comments are good.
We spoke several times with a person on the phone, there was a screening, on file first, then Lucas had to take a motivational interview.
»
On closer inspection, however, certain details are striking.
The “coaches,” for example, don’t seem real.
Thus, “Laurence” from Caravelle Academy, graduated with a “master’s degree in literature at the Sorbonne”, becomes Sophie, “graduated (sic) from the DSCG in 2007” on the Almalia platform.
Mathieu, holder of a master's degree in law from King's College on Caravelle Academy, is none other than "Luca, graduated from DSCG in 2015" on Almalia - or Anton on LinkedIn.
Other photos come straight from an image bank.
The profiles presented on the Vet'Etdudes site are all false, a source who worked for the vet prep confirms: “These people were not part of our teachers.
»
Read alsoTwo years after the fake medicine prep scam, students are still waiting to see their money again
Why did M'Hamed H. decide to break ties?
Did he overinvest?
Were his companies subject to a tax audit?
" We do not know.
But it’s not normal that in France we can be scammed in such a way,” fumes Sandrine.
When asked, the Ministry of Higher Education indicated that it “cannot do anything, because these are private programs.
It's a prosperous sector, we try as much as possible to dissuade people from turning to it by setting up mentoring systems, like in medicine, which are free.
»
For several days, parents and teachers from different preparatory schools have been getting together.
“Collective action will surely have more weight than our individual complaints, but it takes time,” explains Sandrine.
The nurse did the math: according to her estimates, the damage to Vet'Etudes clients and teachers amounts to more than 70,000 euros.
As for the Architektôn preparation, Bertrand calculated 270,000 euros for families and 24,000 euros for teachers and staff.
We tried to contact M'Hamed H. on multiple occasions.
In vain so far.