Jacqueline, 82, lived alone in a house in Auvers-sur-Oise (Val-d'Oise) and suffered from memory problems, the beginning of Alzheimer's.
At the beginning of March 2019, a woman with a child rang her doorbell, introducing herself as an employee of the company Toiture du patrimoine français, a subsidiary of the Prévention du patrimoine français (PPF) group.
“This woman offered my mother a cover treatment even though she had never contacted this company for any intervention,” explains Jean, Jacqueline Gateau’s son.
The work would have been carried out immediately in exchange for a check for 9,020 euros.
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Four days later, do it again.
The same employee would have made the octogenarian sign a new estimate for work, this time on the ridge and framework for an amount of 12,990 euros.
Six days later, it was for insulation work.
“My mother wrote a third check, this time for 11,550 euros.
She lost 33,000 euros in ten days.
It completely dried her out.
We noticed it quickly, but there was nothing we could do.
I called the company's telephone number, and a woman answered, looking down on me: “Your mother signed the orders, the checks.
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“These companies are swarming”
“We hired a lawyer, it’s been going on for five years.
Last September, the trial was postponed at the request of the defense.
The Pontoise court was not aware of the extent of the phenomenon.
He only skimmed over the fraud.
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Jacqueline Gateau has since been placed under family authorization and lives in a specialized home.
“These companies are swarming.
They are almost never controlled or prosecuted.
Their impunity is scandalous.
They change seats, their name, and everything starts again.
The victims are mainly elderly, isolated and vulnerable people.
It's disgusting.
How many victims are there?
What harm does this represent?
It is a scourge that public authorities must tackle urgently.
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