Prosecutions, and a call for testimonies from victims.
This Tuesday, during a press conference, the Aid to Victims of Influencers (AVI) collective, set up to denounce numerous questionable practices on the part, in particular, of reality TV influencers, announced a new wave of lawsuits against several internet stars.
Pointing out numerous scams sometimes aimed at enriching influencers, the collective also called on victims to report to them, to, it says, “reboost their cases”.
Laurent Billionaire’s “succession of scams”
One of the main people targeted by the collective is the influencer Laurent Correia, star of the reality TV show “JLC Family”, better known as Laurent Billionaire.
The man, today followed by more than 380,000 people and known to be the husband of Jazz Correia, also a reality TV influencer, is pinned for a “succession of scams”, the first dating from 2017 with the promotion of dubious sports betting.
The complaints concern Laurent Correia's #BillioGang copytrading, the #BelNiya prize pool, the sale of #21pods headphones linked to #DylanThiry and #FidjiRuiz, as well as the online sale of #bymounamour products.
Several openings of files have been announced: the projects of… pic.twitter.com/kn3hHiiTpu
— Collectif AVI (@collectifAvi) March 26, 2024
This time, the AVI collective is attacking Laurent Billionaire's recent companies, which boast of "copy trading" in Telegram channels named "Billio Gang", "Billio Elite", "Billio 1%".
In these chat groups, the influencer invites his followers to invest in currency exchanges, promising “unrealistic gains”.
An investigation by Le Parisien, published in 2021, already highlighted the excesses of the “Billio Gang” group, whose members reported having lost several hundred, even several thousand euros.
According to the complaints collected by the AVI collective, the total “losses amounted to 45,000 euros”.
“But it’s a very small piece” of the affair, comments Jean-Baptiste Boisseau, founder of the Signal Arnaques site and member of the group, who estimates that several “hundreds of thousands of euros” would have been lost.
Read alsoCryptocurrencies, currencies… The AMF wants to train influencers promoting online investments
The collective is also tackling an NFT project by Laurent Correia, entitled “Billionaire Dogs”.
This device consisted of selling images of dogs that were supposed to increase in value, but which would have mainly served to enrich the influencer.
“The money disappeared after a few weeks, and the equivalent of 400,000 euros went into his pocket,” underlines the AVI collective, which retraced the path of the influencer’s earnings thanks to the system of blockchain.
In the context of these cases, a complaint against
A prize pool promoted by Poupette Kenza also targeted
Another file: that of suspicions of misappropriation of a humanitarian fund, promoted by the influencer Poupette Kenza, as well as her cousins Anissa and Soukaïna.
This fundraising, highlighted in June 2023, was to support a Moroccan orphanage managed by the Swiss association Atlas Kinder.
But many Internet users were concerned to see that, out of more than 200,000 euros of winnings, only 134,000 euros were ultimately sent to the orphanage.
“After deducting the 9,145 euros in management fees, significant doubts persist as to the destination of more than 70,000 euros in donations,” confides Jean-Baptiste Boisseau, who counts 16,000 potentially harmed donors.
In this case, the AVI collective intends to file a complaint against X for “breach of trust as an organized group”.
Dylan Thiry sued for advertising fake AirPods
Controversial influencer Dylan Thiry, already targeted by a multitude of complaints, is once again singled out by the AVI collective, this time for the dubious promotion of headphones “similar” to AirPods designed by the Apple brand.
In the “21pods” affair, several dozen plaintiffs denounced “non-compliance with delivery times, non-receipt of products, non-compliance of products with advertising, or even competitions without winners », Notes Houda, from the legal department of the AVI collective.
The case, dating from the end of 2019 to the beginning of 2020, would concern up to 5,000 people, estimates the group, which wants to file a complaint for “organized gang fraud”, “organized gang breach of trust”, and “deceptive commercial practices ".
An “open file” against a contemporary artist
Slim, a member of the AVI collective, also shared an “open file” concerning various questionable NFTs from contemporary artist Vincent Faudemer, followed by 1.6 million people on Instagram, and known for having designed the “Babolex” statuettes », a sort of mini Babar equipped with Rolex watches.
In 2021, the artist appreciated by PSG players and the Kardashians released a first collection of 6,000 “Babolex” NFTs sold at 350 euros each, promising numerous gifts, such as advantageous returns, access to a game exclusive video also bringing in winnings, or even ski weekends and “Dragon Ball Z” statuettes.
In the following months, the artist promoted two other similar projects: “Alien X”, and “Babolex Snoop Dogg”, in collaboration with the famous American rapper.
Also read “It can’t go on”: victims of reality TV influencers come out of the woods
Problem: investors had no record of guaranteed returns on investments, or were entitled to defective gifts.
“More than ten million euros were invested,” underlines Slim, who explains that he is one of the Internet users harmed in these projects.
A complaint will be filed at the beginning of July 2024 “to demand accountability for these fraudulent practices”, indicates the AVI collective, which has already collected testimonies from 199 complainants for total damage estimated at 669,000 euros.
A small content creator, bymounamour, also pinned
The AVI collective also announces that it is pursuing the influencer named bymounamour for “scam”.
Less known than her colleagues, Hadja Diaby, her real name, is followed by 90,000 people on Instagram, where she shares the daily life of her family, or even her travels.
She also advertises her online store, specializing in cosmetic products in particular.
Some of these products are composed of “ingredients banned in France”, underlines the AVI collective, which cites the example of Feminity soap, a carrot soap withdrawn from sale last September.
Other products, such as black soap and shea butter, are “made at home”, “without respecting standards”.
Added to these denunciations are the usual delivery delays, a lack of follow-up, and even a disregard for customer complaints.