ABUSE OF VULNERABILITY: THE PRICE OF TRUST | TF1 | Reportages

The figures speak for themselves.
In France, the number of fraud victims increased by 64% between 2016 and 2023. Among them, 800,000 people each year are over the age of 75.
Authorizing bank transactions over the phone, signing inappropriate energy-renovation contracts, placing trust in ill-intentioned relatives — it has never been easier to deceive vulnerable people. While the methods evolve, the targets remain the same. Advanced age, psychological or mental distress, illness, isolation… all situations that attract scammers of every kind.
Loïc, 45, now has only one goal: bringing down the sales representatives who swindled his father.
The retired man had the façade of his house renovated three times, his attic insulation redone six times, and even had his garage insulated — to the point where it resembles a power plant.
Over ten years, he was defrauded by a dozen unscrupulous energy-renovation companies, losing a total of €212,000.
Valérie, who is ill, and her husband were in urgent need. They took out an online loan. The sales agent who dealt with them sensed an opportunity. Within a few weeks, he extracted €2,500 from them without ever providing the loan. They are now seeking to have the company convicted.
Identifying and prosecuting cases of abuse of vulnerability as quickly as possible, in order to convict as many scammers as possible — this is the challenge faced by Anne Proust, a magistrate specializing in such cases. Each month in Paris, she receives around fifty reports.
We also give the floor to those accused.
Village mayors, caregivers… they admit to having received money from often very elderly people, but deny theft allegations and are determined to defend themselves.
One such case is Fabien Kees, mayor of Dannemois (Essonne). On October 4, 2024, he was sentenced to 18 months’ suspended prison time and one year of ineligibility for fraudulent abuse of trust, abuse of vulnerability, money laundering and handling stolen goods.
He is accused of having taken €155,000 from the account of Jeannine, a 90-year-old resident who died in 2022. Since then, the village has been divided between his supporters and the children and grandchildren of the victim, who are demanding the return of the money.
So how can truth be separated from falsehood?
To understand how these cases are built — and what leads to a conviction — we finally place our cameras alongside magistrates and police officers specialized in this type of crime.