“I am Brigitte Macron's nephew”. This is how a 35-year-old man presented himself to be able, also thanks to a fake email address of the Presidency of the Republic of France, to infiltrate events for VIPs, to take advantage of 5-star hotels and to travel in first class.
However, the scam was soon discovered and now the man is on trial in Paris.
Before the judges, the accused admitted that he had sent e-mails from the fictitious address, pretending to be Pierre-Olivier Costa, head of cabinet of Brigitte Macron, wife of the president, or Patrick Strzoda, head of cabinet of Emmanuel Macron himself (both yes are constituted as a civil party).
In the emails, specific services were requested on behalf of the self-styled grandson of the première dame, such as a seat for the Formula 1 Grand Prix or an Air France Carte Club 2000. Often, however, the scam was discovered early.
Also in court, the 35-year-old explained that he was attracted by status, prestige and privileges, denying, however, that he had hatched the scam "for the money" or to "wrong" the Elysée. "During my childhood - he told the judges - lies were part of my daily life. I ran away from home at 17 and started inventing life scenarios to create a sort of distortion from my previous life".
An accomplice ended up on trial with him, who would also take advantage of false e-mail addresses to get luxury clothes.
(Unioneonline / lf)