AFP, June 26, 2017

The young man is suspected of having stolen 380,00 euro from the life insurance of an octogenarian client.

He explained that he “cracked” when he heard the “racist words” of his client. The young financial advisor will be judged in August in Bobigny for defrauding almost 400,000 euros from his client who is in her 80s. The man of 27 years said he wanted to “let off steam” against his employer, as his lawyer Manual Abitbol explained to Agence-France-Presse on Sunday 25 June.

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“Several factors came together,” adds the lawyer: “a work overload, the fact that he was not feeling valued by management and the racist and Islamophobic words allegedly spoken by his client, because he and his family are Muslims.” The young man, who works at the agency Crédit Lyonnais, in Aubervilliers, is suspected of having stolen, between March and December 2016, 380 000 euros from the life insurance of the 89 year old customer.

He admitted the allegations in police custody.

The investigation started after the director of the agency noticed a suspicious address change. The client in question was contacted by the bank and confirmed she had not moved. A complaint was then filed, says Manual Abitbol. The new address was an apartment flat belonging to the financial advisor. This apartment, and a second dwelling purchased with the stolen money, have both been seized , as well as 36,000 euros of gold bullion discovered in the search.

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The banker will be judged on 21 August for fraud. “His criminal record is blank and he immediately admitted the crime” his lawyer stressed.

[Editor’s Note: Translated by AR from French.]