French Winemaker Loses Fortune in Elaborate Royal Family Scam

The 30-year-old vintner met the so-called policeman in 2007, in a brasserie to which he delivered champagne. The latter introduced himself to him as a general intelligence and high-profile protection service agent. The winemaker thought he was seizing an opportunity to promote his champagne, according to Le Parisien.

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The young man gave crates of champagne to the fake policeman so that he could introduce his product to high-profile personalities. But he never received any orders from this clientele that he was trying to attract. The fake policeman then introduced him to a "friend" who would master the environment. He would be a second-rate actor, and would even have had a role in a film with Johnny Hallyday.

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The young winemaker believed everything his new "friends" told him. Easily manipulated, he even went so far as to believe that former US President Barack Obama had given the fake actor a plane which, for lack of means, has not yet been repatriated to France. Excessively naive, he will also believe that the latter is close to the Moroccan royal family. The third scammer, playing the role of an informant, was supposed to give him Arabic lessons at 200 euros an hour to allow him to access the Moroccan court.

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The scam lasted five years during which the thirty-year-old delivered free crates of champagne, paid for the travel expenses of his "friends" by plane, not to mention their clothing, catering, etc. In total, he would have lost the tidy sum