American Tourist Scammed in $80,000 Carpet Purchase in Fez, Morocco

The investigators heard the plaintiff and the two accused on Friday, according to sources. The investigation continues to elucidate this case. In her complaint addressed to the Fez court prosecutor’s office through the American diplomatic services in Rabat, the tourist explains that she bought a carpet for 800,000 dirhams in the souvenir shop, one of the accused being the owner.

After an expert assessment, the American discovered that the carpet should not cost more than 150,000 dirhams. The seller had made her believe that the carpet was silk, but in the end, it turned out to be a carpet made in Turkey with ordinary threads.

Strangely, the accused were involved in a similar case reported about a year ago by another American tourist who also accuses them of fraud. She says she bought a carpet for 450,000 dirhams from a tour guide who posed as an English professor at the University of Fez. She had been put in contact with him by the manager of the riad where she was staying.