Northern France: Fraud Press Review (February 2020)

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In February in the North of France: two years of prison and 2.7 million euros for illegal bingos near Calais, the founder of Sasha Investissement sentenced in Dunkerque, and frauds and scams increased by 15% last year in the Northern France.

Calais: two years of prison and 2.7 million euros for organizing unauthorized bingos

An employee from the city of Calais has been sentenced by the Criminal Court of Boulogne-sur-Mer to two years of prison and to pay 2.7 millions euros for having organized unauthorized bingos in Marck.

As the president of a sport association, he organized many bingos between 2002 and 2016 without respecting any fiscal, social and customs obligations. Sometimes, up to 200 people were participating to the illegal event.

On top of being jailed, the fraudster will have to pay 1.9 million euros to the tax authorities and more than 750 000 euros to URSSAF (social contributions).

Lille: the "Gendarmerie" raises the enterprises awareness of the cyberattacks risks during the FIC 2020

The International Forum of Cybersecurity (FIC 2020) took place in Lille from the 28th to the 30th of January 2020. More than 12 000 people attended this event about cybersecurity, with many conferences and round tables.

On this occasion, the Gendarmerie and the Regional Council of Hauts-de-France have signed a convention aiming to raise the companies awareness of the cyberattacks risks. With this partnership, the Regional Council will provide technical resources and share its companies database in order for the Gendarmerie to better target the vulnerable companies.

Lieutenant-Colonel Alain Grandjean said that all companies are facing these risks, even if SMEs are more at risk due to their lower resources. According to the French Network and Information Security Agency (ANSSI), 85% of cyberattacks could be avoided by the companies by increasing awareness.

The Gendarmerie provides free services to companies in order to get a vulnerability audit after a two-hours interview. Companies can also be assisted by the Regional Council in order to protect their systems.

Grande-Synthe: the founder of "Sasha Investissement" sentenced to prison

In the December 2019 press review, we talked about the Sasha Investissement affair, which affected more than one hundred people around Dunkerque. A man from Grande-Synthe offered to invest cash amounts on sport bets through a fake investment company. Most of the founds collected were actually spent in casino.
This month, the Court in Dunkirk has sentenced the fraudster to 18 months of prison (including 12 of suspended prison) and to pay his victims and URSSAF (organization collecting the social security contributions) a total amount of 240 000 euros.

Northern France: frauds and scams increased by 15% in 2019 according to the prefect of the department

Michel Lalande, prefect of the North department, presented statistics about the delinquency in 2019. The cases of fraud and scam have increased significantly by 15.1% compared to the previous year (+9.1% in France).

The property offencies have slightly increased (+0.9% in the North), even if thefts with violence have decreased by 7.4% while theft without violence increased by 1.1%. Destructions, defacements and damages increased by 2.5% in 2019.