Moroccan Man Sentenced to 15 Years for Marriage Scam Targeting Women and Minor

On Thursday, the criminal chamber of the first instance court of the Court of Appeal of Ouarzazate sentenced an individual - a taxi driver - to 15 years in prison for fraud and blackmail against women wishing to get married, including a minor. It also ordered him to pay financial compensation to the victims. The court costs are also his responsibility.

In April, elements of the territorial center of the Royal Gendarmerie in Kelaat M’Gouna had arrested F.A. following a complaint filed against him for fraud and blackmail by several young women wishing to get married. He was also the subject of four warrants issued on the instructions of the Attorney General of the King near the Royal Gendarmerie in Skoura, Ouarzazate, and the National Security in Ouarzazate for rape. This 36-year-old man had made these young women believe that he lived in Europe and wanted to marry them, before blackmailing and extorting money from them. After hearing five plaintiffs and six witnesses over four sessions, the court was convinced of the charges before handing down its judgment.