Three people, managers and directors of a higher education establishment in the city of Le Mans, in France, were indicted for, among other things, aiding the stay of an organized gang, aggravated fraud and tax evasion. Their alleged wrongs: selling, for several thousand euros, fraudulent education documents to students from Benin, to allow them to stay legally in France
3 mins
Officials of a business school are at the heart of a vast scam. Young foreigners have paid thousands of euros for school documents that have no value.
According to the investigation, here is how the school allegedly scammed these Beninese students. On its site, the school, which is called European School of Business and International Affairs (Esbia), provides around twenty training courses.
Students paid thousands of euros for fake training
To access it, and come to study in France, in the city of Le Mans, several dozen Beninese students pay thousands of euros. Except that in the end, they do not obtain the requested courses: according to the Ouest-France newspaperstudents would ultimately only be entitled to a few hours of English or accounting.
The only thing they get is this famous fake education document. This paper which, at the time, allowed students to come, from Benin, in France, then to stay there. The investigation then showed that this document had no legal value. Beninese students therefore do not know if they will be able to stay in France.
“ The school brought students from Africa », confirmed a source close to the investigation in West France. “ They paid around 5 at 6 000 € per year, but were very quickly encouraged to work. They all thought they were coming to study, but they quickly understood that they were caught in a vicious circle, because school was their only way to stay legally in the country. »
Three suspects indicted
Investigators were able to recover numerous documents during searches carried out at the homes of the network managers. These documents ” confirm the importance and scale of the alleged facts since several dozen students were thus counted », Specified the prosecution. “ In addition, it appears that this structure created in 2018 would have received public funding for work-study training assistance, again in a fanciful manner and unrelated to its actual activity. »
The investigation continues. On November 20, two men and a woman were arrested. At the end of 96 hours of police custody, the three suspects were indicted by a Le Mans investigating judge for “ assistance to stay in an organized gang, aggravated fraud, breach of trust, abuse of corporate assets and tax fraud “. Then, they were placed under strict judicial supervision.
“ With no criminal record recorded, these people are aged 42 and 48. One is of French nationality, the other two of Beninese nationality, and live either in Le Mans or in Paris », Details the press release from the prefecture. The three suspects face up to ten years in prison.