A string of scams: the man who appeared in court in Marigot last Friday was no stranger to such offences
There are people for whom dishonesty is a way of life, and they practise it with such confidence that their victims fall for it every time.
On this occasion, the defendant was to answer for his actions in relation to thirteen virtually identical charges. The modus operandi was as follows: after being put in touch with potential clients, this so-called builder and handyman would ask for cash deposits in order to purchase the materials needed to carry out the work he had been asked to do: swimming pool repairs, flat renovations, tiling, fitting of bay windows, and even setting up companies on the Dutch side, as the man claimed with unrivalled confidence that he had a well-stocked address book covering virtually every field. Endowed with a gift for persuasion and a well-rehearsed pitch, he collected large sums of money which he then used for personal gain.
When trust reigns, anything goes
At best, he would start building projects with disastrous results without ever completing them, all whilst not owning any company or bank account. Before the judge, the man admitted without batting an eyelid that he had indeed always worked ‘off the books’ and that under no circumstances did he intend to see the projects he’d started – or in some cases hadn’t even started – through to completion. It would be tedious to list the sums of money he had thus shamelessly embezzled, but as the hearing progressed, the figures kept coming, much to the astonishment of those present in the courtroom: €2,600, €10,000, €8,700, €6,200… as well as a list of criminal offences such as false invoicing, the undeclared employment of a minor, money laundering, not to mention threats against his victims, breach of trust, use of forged documents, fraud, etc.
Why stop there?
Displaying Olympian calm, the man admits to practically everything, with two or three exceptions. It must be said that his track record reveals a genuine propensity for dishonest behaviour, as evidenced by his already extensive criminal record. Throughout his wanderings, which have taken him from Brittany to Réunion via Corsica, as well as to Basse-Terre prison and many other destinations, he eventually ended up in Saint-Martin with his wife and child, where he committed further offences despite wearing an electronic tag and being subject to court supervision.
Yes, that is a lot to take in, and we do not have the space to go into further detail. After a hearing lasting over two hours, the court handed down its verdict: 30 months’ imprisonment, 18 of which are suspended, meaning he must repay all his victims within the specified timeframe, failing which he will return to prison. He left the court flanked by two police officers without batting an eyelid… no doubt out of habit.
