Alleged Moroccan Royal Heiress Scams Belgian Man Out of Life Savings

It all started with an email that a woman, presenting herself as the heiress of a former king of Morocco, sent to a 71-year-old man from Namur in 2021. In this message, "she requests his financial support to help her pay substantial inheritance rights and promises him that in return he could benefit from the generosity as well as the affection of this noble young woman who would have meanwhile regained good fortune," reports La Dernière Heure. The septuagenarian takes the bait. First payment: €10,000. A debt acknowledgment and a front and back copy of the identity card of the one he has just rescued reach him. The scam does not stop there. He is solicited for other payments.

In 2022, Joseph, a 40-year-old Parisian, contacts the Namur man. He acts as an intermediary between the generous Namur man and the two scammers who remained in the shadows. He makes the septuagenarian believe that he was going to bring him a suitcase of banknotes, before explaining to him that this would no longer be possible due to a bad maneuver. This "has triggered a security system and all the banknotes have been stained with ink to make them unusable." He then encourages him to make a final small payment to settle the problem and get his hands on the bills. Penniless, the Namur man hands over his remaining assets: ten gold ingots, of one hundred grams each, with a total value of a little more than €75,000.

"In total, the victim will lose €378,651," calculates Julien Delchambre, the lawyer for the civil party. This case is undermining his health. "With this case, he’s been sweating blood. And today, he’s on his hospital bed. He suffers from widespread cancer. And he knows he’s leaving his daughter no inheritance," adds the lawyer. The septuagenarian nevertheless managed to have Joseph arrested by giving him an appointment in a large Brussels hotel, for a new transfer of funds. He took care to inform the police. The Parisian is placed in custody on October 27, 2023 then in detention. "By acting in this way, you are emptying the fruit of a lifetime’s work. All this to treat your... lifestyle," attacks Thibaut Vandermeiren, the representative of the public prosecutor’s office. He demands a sentence of five years in prison.

Thomas Puccini takes the defense of the Parisian. "He arrived in the middle of the game, he recalls. He was not the one pulling the strings but the two other people mentioned in the file. We had their names and numbers. Why were they not questioned?" The defense counsel assures that Joseph was under the orders of these two individuals. "There is a message where we understand that it is this lady who is demanding money from my client. And there are even threats." The victim’s lawyer confuses his colleague. "We saw him with an Audermas Piguet watch and then with a Cartier, points out Julien Delchambre. He had custom-made suits made, with his name embroidered inside. We were also able to see that he was taking flights on Air France, in first class..." Will the Parisian benefit from a mitigating circumstance? The verdict is expected on August 22.