The gang of criminals from father to son, dismantled in mid-December and suspected of having extorted money from around thirty clergymen all over France between 2018 and 2020, is being tried before the Havre court.

Their methods: pretend to be parishioners or gendarmes.

Their scam was well established, and above all, it served as a real tradition passed down from father to son.

Last December, Europe 1 revealed that a gang specializing in swindling priests throughout France had been dismantled.

They are now eight to be tried in the court of Le Havre for fraud and complicity in fraud by an organized gang.

At the head of the group, twins, from a family already expert in the field.

Their father has himself already been convicted of similar acts. 

"We let ourselves be taken by the feelings"

These crooks - whose prime target were elderly, retired priests - are suspected of having extorted money from about thirty clergymen between 2018 and 2020. To carry out their scams, the twins and their accomplices contacted the victims by telephone, presenting themselves as parishioners in distress, or also posing as gendarmes to prove their good faith.

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A mishap that happened to Father Joseph Dissac, 76, settled in the Aveyron and embarked on a move-in story: "Of course, there were problems paying the deposit. And then and then ... let go of the feelings, we have the impression that the person is totally in disarray, we imagine the tears that flow. And at one point, I say to myself 'if I can do something, then why not!'. gets had ... ", recalls the man of the Church. 

Get revenge after being abused as a child

For three days, the crooks do not let go and extort 3,700 euros from him, in the name of "Christian charity".

Other victims will give much more.

In total, the damage is estimated at 150,000 euros. 

The father of the twins, several times convicted of dozens of fraud of this type, said he was acting out of revenge after being abused as a child by men of the Church.

An original crime that could well resurface today in court through the voice of his sons.