A resident of Monaco, André, has incurred a significant financial loss amounting to €305,000 due to a complex investment fraud. Seduced by an advertisement promising high returns, André engaged with an online platform that connected him with an alleged financial advisor, Jérôme Souville, purporting to be from "Börse Frankfurt Bank." Initially investing €10,000 and subsequently increasing his stake after seeing promising returns, André, along with his children who collectively invested €131,000, found themselves unable to contact Souville or access their funds by November 2023.
The situation worsened when André was misled into paying an additional €97,000 under the guise of tax obligations, contradicting initial assurances that taxes would be withheld at the source. Upon the disappearance of Souville and the sudden inaccessibility of their invested capital, André realized the gravity of the scam and proceeded to file a complaint with the Cap-d’Ail gendarmerie in December 2023. Despite initial challenges in the investigation due to the elusive nature of the perpetrator, the case was later taken up by the Nice prosecutor’s office, which reopened the inquiry recognizing the sophisticated methods employed by the fraudsters, often operating from abroad.
This fraudulent scheme, involving multiple deceptive websites and contact numbers and primarily channeling funds through Spanish bank accounts, has impacted several other victims, as reported by financial scam watchdogs and the French Consumer Protection Association. Monaco authorities are heightening efforts to alert the public to the risks of such scams, urging vigilance in verifying the credibility of investment opportunities.
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