French widow €800,000 fraud Morocco elderly abuse case

The case begins in 2019 in Béarn. The accused, presenting himself as a wine merchant, targets an 88-year-old woman, a widow with no children or close relatives. After convincing her that he could take care of her, he makes her leave her home. In February 2020, he enters into a civil partnership with her and obtains a notarial power of attorney over all her financial assets.

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The embezzlements then accelerate. According to the prosecution, the man empties the victim’s bank accounts and life insurance contracts, amassing €830,000. He uses this money to acquire real estate through a company and diverts her monthly pension of €1,300. After several moves in France, he takes her to Morocco in 2022. The elderly woman ends up housed with the family of her attacker’s new partner. Investigators will eventually find her confined to a room of only three square meters.

It is a business creation professional who raises the alarm in 2023, intrigued by the age difference after receiving a copy of the civil partnership agreement by mistake. Arrested during a trip to France, the man, in provisional detention for three years, denies the facts and invokes the victim’s consent. She died in 2025 at the age of 94 in a retirement home in Casablanca.

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The accused, tried for kidnapping, unlawful confinement, abuse of weakness and money laundering, faces up to 20 years in prison, while the notary obtained a dismissal.