Four months after the publication of the book "Les Fossoyeurs", the group of private Ephad Orpea is the subject of a judicial investigation, opened in Nanterre, on suspicion of institutional mistreatment or financial offenses, indicated, Thursday 28 April, the floor.

This investigation was opened after a report from the government at the end of March.

An administrative investigation carried out by the State had indeed revealed "serious dysfunctions" in the management of the establishments.

The government had also announced that it intended to require Orpea to reimburse public grants allegedly diverted from their purposes.

Suspicions of embezzlement of public funds

The judicial investigation, opened between April 22 and 27 and entrusted to the gendarmes of the Versailles Research Section, relates to suspicions of institutional mistreatment and financial offences, in particular embezzlement of public funds, specified the parquet floor of Nanterre.

She was joined to investigations, already underway since February, for "forgery and use of forgery and violation of labor legislation by abusively resorting to fixed-term contracts".

Contacted by AFP, Orpea assured that it was "at the disposal of justice" and wanted to "cooperate fully in the smooth running of the investigation".

Previous complaints will be investigated

These investigations, also entrusted to the national gendarmerie, also relate to a good "part of the complaints" filed at the beginning of April 2022 by a lawyer from the Paris bar, Me Sarah Saldmann.

The rest is still "under study".

"I am delighted with the opening of an investigation but I am waiting to see what happens to the other files," the lawyer told AFP, who specifies that around thirty nursing homes are concerned by these "70 complaints" for "endangering the lives of others" and "manslaughter".

The investigators must also look into "other proceedings previously referred to the prosecution and targeting the same group", added the public prosecutor's office.

"It is now time for justice to get to work and in complete independence", reacted to AFP Me Fabien Arakelian, representative of several families in procedures already open in Nanterre and elsewhere in the country.

With AFP

The summary of the

France 24 week invites you to come back to the news that marked the week

I subscribe

Take international news everywhere with you!

Download the France 24 app

google-play-badge_FR