They are at the centre of a huge fraud in the field of vocational training. Fourteen people were convicted for the 13my Paris Criminal Courtroom, Wednesday 4 September, for fraud and fraud in organised gangs, with sentences ranging from ten months to five years in prison, fines of up to 45,000 euros and disqualification from managing a company of five to fifteen.
They were found guilty of having run, or worked for, around 15 private companies between 2009 and 2014 and having improperly benefited, through various means, from public money, normally intended for the further training of employees. The damage caused by the case was estimated at around 3 million euros by investigators from the Paris judicial police’s brigade for the repression of cunning crime. The defendants, eleven men and three women, were also awarded substantial compensation, sometimes amounting to hundreds of thousands of euros.
Vocational training is a legal obligation for companies, which contribute financially based on their payroll. It is provided by Training Organizations (OF), private law providers that can invoice their services to approved Joint Collection Organizations (OPCA), responsible for managing the money from contributions by sector or branch. The defendants were able to enrich themselves by taking advantage of the defects and weaknesses of this mechanism, the control of which is difficult and poorly guaranteed.
fake invoices
“Although they are paid by private law organisations, the funds raised by the fraudsters come directly from mandatory deductions established by law, based on payroll and deducted from wages. Therefore, defrauding the OPCAs, even with the client’s consent, is stealing from all companies and their employees.”explained Guillaume Daïeff, the president of the 13my in the criminal courtroom, during the reading of the sentence, in front of the impassive accused. For the magistrate, the “gravity” This fraud justifies the heavy penalties, even if “the facts are old”.
During the trial, which took place in June, the practices of the criminals, which were not all known to each other, were detailed. Based on the training actually provided to the company’s employees, false invoices were issued to the OPCAs, with the number of hours inflated compared to reality and prices pushed to the legal limit. “For eight hours of training at 20 euros per hour, the OF requested support for thirty hours and a total of 1,250 euros, or 40 euros per hour”the court points out in its ruling.
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