Six men aged 24 to 40 will be tried in November at Le Mans for having stolen nearly 800,000 euros from banks thanks to a vast network of online credit scams, the prosecution announced on Friday (September 17th).
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Five of them were placed under judicial supervision and the sixth, presented as "
the main instigator
", was remanded in custody until the trial scheduled for November 5.
They face ten years in prison, according to a press release from Le Mans prosecutor Delphine Dewailly.
"Suspicious movements" in 2019
The case began in June 2019 when Tracfin, the anti-money laundering unit of Bercy, reported to the public prosecutor's office in Le Mans "
suspicious financial movements on around thirty bank accounts opened fraudulently
" by several people using documents of dubious authenticity "
to take out credits online,
”according to the same source.
All accounts are domiciled in Sarthe.
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The suspects subscribe the credits thanks to usurped identities then transfer the money on "
a multitude of accounts to cover the tracks
", described the divisional commissioner Franck Hemery, territorial director of the judicial police of Angers, co-seized of the 'investigation with the Sarthe gendarmerie.
"
The fact that the money passes from one account to another makes it rather difficult to trace
", explained Commissioner Hemery, describing a "
modus operandi not complex
" but requiring long investigations.
"Individuals have not suffered any prejudice"
Sixty identity papers were usurped in total, according to the prosecution.
They were provided by an employee of an energy renovation company who collected these documents for public aid applications.
"
Individuals have not suffered any prejudice
", however, underlined Commissioner Hemery.
Investigators have identified "a
total of more than 793,000 euros of damage to banking institutions
", according to the prosecution.
The suspects were arrested on Tuesday and taken into police custody before being presented to the prosecution on Thursday.
Some 17,000 euros were seized from the bank accounts of the suspects.
