It is a long-term investigation carried out by the men of the Saint-Gaudens Research Brigade (31) in co-referral with the gendarmes of the Boulogne-sur-Gesse company.
After eight months of investigations, they managed to put an end to a vast door-to-door scam whose damage is estimated at around 50,000 euros, we learned this Saturday from the Saint-Gaudens prosecutor's office.
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Since September 2021, fake bedding representatives have been showing up at the homes of individuals - most of the time elderly people -, claiming to want them to benefit from state aid of 150 euros for the replacement of their mattresses which, according to they were most likely infested with microscopic insects.
Equipped with a small digital payment terminal, the crooks inserted the bank card of their victims but immediately simulated a problem when attempting to pay.
They then took the opportunity to make several transfers by hand, the amount of which always exceeded the initial invoice.
"
Some victims were debited 3000 euros
", details Christophe Amunzateguy, the public prosecutor of Saint-Gaudens.
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In total, nearly thirty people, aged 65 to 80, were victims of this scam.
Of course, none of them have ever seen the color of any mattress.
Tuesday, April 19 at dawn, three individuals, two men and a woman in their forties, were arrested and placed in police custody.
All three from the Traveler community and already known to the courts for various offences, they were brought to justice and tried in immediate appearance on Thursday, April 21.
But the trial was finally postponed until May 10 and the trio was placed under judicial supervision.
The defendants are prosecuted for “
theft
”, “
fraud on vulnerable people
” and “
non-justification of resources
” for one of them.
