€500,000 Covid Fraud: Warrant Maintained for Suspect Hiding in Morocco

The shadow of the main defendant hung over Tuesday’s hearing, held on 3 February 2026. Tried for organized gang fraud and money laundering, the man identified as the mastermind did not appear, having fled to Morocco to evade justice. The court sentenced him to five years in prison without parole, along with a €150,000 fine and the confiscation of the diverted funds. An arrest warrant against him was extended, reports Le Parisien.

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The crimes, committed between October 2019 and October 2021, involved diverting the partial unemployment scheme introduced by the state during the pandemic. Taking advantage of the “whatever it takes” approach, the criminals used shell companies and stolen identities to open bank accounts, notably in Les Andelys (Eure), and unlawfully collect nearly €500,000 in public funds.

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The three other defendants, present in court and described as “small fry” by the defense, received sentences that could be adjusted. Two defendants in their forties were sentenced to four years in prison, including two suspended; having already served 16 months in pretrial detention, they will complete their sentences under electronic monitoring. The youngest, whose charges were reduced to the use of forged documents, was sentenced to four months in prison, covered by time already served.

The case, which had ramifications in Val-d’Oise and Var, was uncovered thanks to a report by Tracfin, alerted by suspicious financial movements.