5,176.63 euros for Florent H., 6,102.69 euros for Pierre B., 20,471.37 euros for Aurélie J., 23,404.14 euros for Léo L. Some of the amounts are dizzying and the file contains several hundred. They correspond to the amounts withdrawn from consumers’ bank accounts over months and years by various companies in the SFAM group, in defiance of multiple requests for termination and reimbursement.
The case will be examined, starting on Monday, September 23, by the 31stmy The criminal division of the Paris court of law has filed a suit for misleading commercial practices against SFAM, five other companies in the group (Foriou, Cyrana, Serena, Hubside and SFK) and its founder, Sadri Fegaier. The latter faces two years in prison and a fine of 300,000 euros. For legal entities, the fine can reach up to 10% of the average turnover calculated over the previous three years at the time of the events.
Included in the 2018 annual ranking of the richest people in France compiled by the magazine ChallengesWith an estimated net worth of 1.4 billion euros, Fegaier, 44, was still included in this list in 2023, but left it in 2024. Because, in the meantime, SFAM, which became Indexia in 2021, has collapsed, dragged down by the scandal of abusive taxes.
However, the rise of the company, which for a time included in its capital the French fund Ardian and a subsidiary of the Caisse des Dépôts associated with the sovereign wealth fund of Abu Dhabi, was spectacular. When it was created in 1999, SFAM (French Society of Multi-Risk Insurance) was an “affinity” insurance broker: when buying a mobile phone, a computer or a tablet, the consumer was offered insurance against breakages or breakdowns, payable monthly by direct debit, with the promise of a 30 euro refund.
The simple recipe is quick to make and the group based in Romans-sur-Isère (Drôme) is growing rapidly. But in 2017, the first disputes arose. Customers noticed that withdrawals from their account were increasing without justification or explicit authorisation on their part, sometimes on behalf of companies they had never heard of. “This is the principle of painless sampling: we do not feel pain until the moment when, by feeling a tingling sensation, we begin to feel pain”Jérôme (who did not want his name published), 76, says he estimates his loss at around 17,000 euros. Withdrawals from his account reached a maximum of 900 euros per month. “When I went into the red, I was forced to sell shares that I received from my mother. I would like at least to get compensation so I can buy them back.”
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