The divisional commissioner Cécile Moral, head of the brigade for the repression of astute delinquency (BRDA) at the judicial police of Paris notes that, in the cases of partial unemployment fraud which she is seized of, "most often, it is a question of companies that survived before the crisis.
They had accumulated debts and tried to take advantage of this opportunity to bail out ”.
The BRDA is investigating sensitive scams committed in Paris and in the inner suburbs.
READ ALSO>
Partial unemployment fraud: millions of euros embezzled
When and how did these partial unemployment aid scams appear?
CECILE MORAL.
The litigation emerged in the heart of the summer.
The economic support system put in place by the State started at the start of the pandemic, around March.
It was not until the time of the first payments to realize that there was fraud.
Our first referrals to the Paris prosecutor's office and the inner city prosecutor's offices date back to the end of July.
The latter are alerted by the control services of the Regional Directorate for Companies, Competition, Consumption, Labor and Employment (Direccte), but especially by Tracfin reports
(Editor's note: the gendarme of Bercy).
The regulatory body notes certain atypical financial movements and sudden transfers to bank accounts of dormant companies.
How many investigations do you currently count in Paris and in the Paris region and for what damage?
We count a little more than thirty preliminary investigations for a total damage of more than 8.8 million euros.
Cases which fluctuate between 100,000 and 800,000 euros in damages per company.
Out of these 8.8 million euros, we were able to recover around 3.05 million.
When our department is entered, our priority is to identify the company's bank accounts and balance them to seize whatever can be.
It's a race against time.
What are the modus operandi and the profile of fraudsters?
There are different scenarios.
We have so-called one-person companies which had a real activity but in slow motion, and declared fictitious employees online: 10, 20, sometimes 50 employees.
A construction company claimed to employ 150 people.
Companies which had ten employees but declared two or three times more, and finally empty shells.
More often than not, these are companies which survived before the crisis, had accumulated debts, and tried to take this opportunity to bail out.
At their head, they are not crooks with criminal cases long as the arm, but rather dishonest opportunists.
However, it is aggravated fraud because to the prejudice of a body responsible for public service mission.
Fraudsters risk seven years in prison.
Newsletter - Most of the news
Every morning, the news seen by Le Parisien
I'm registering
Your email address is collected by Le Parisien to enable you to receive our news and commercial offers.
Learn more
In which sectors are these companies operating?
The building, renovation work, security… Sectors where there is a workforce.
So far, we have not pinned any company in the hotel or restaurant industry.
Can you mention a scam that particularly marked you?
Yes, one of them is quite crisp and revealing.
It concerns a forty-something at the head of an aesthetic salon without any real activity.
She worked there alone but declared about fifty fictitious employees.
In total, this woman received around 215,000 euros in aid.
With this money, she offered herself for about 15,000 euros in beauty treatments, bought a new car for 35,000 euros, financed her children's education and put money aside.
His bank reported to Tracfin atypical or suspicious transfers to the accounts of this dormant company.
The beautician was unknown to the police.
The case should be judged next March, it has already been postponed for the first time.
With the second lockdown, do you face any other scams?
Files continue to arrive, but they are fewer.
Controls have intensified, and it is known.
But there will undoubtedly be attempts again.