In prison, a man pretended to be a policeman, gendarme or judge and tricked at least 62 priests in France into giving him money, reports AFP. A number of 18 alleged fraudsters were arrested on Wednesday in north-west France in connection with these “organized group frauds”, according to police and court sources.

Nine of the three – six men and three women, aged between 29 and 56 – appeared in court in Le Havre on Friday and will be tried on the merits on May 16.

The facts took place in the period from April 2020 to February 2024.

The 35-year-old “mastermind” of the operation is currently in prison after being convicted of similar actions in 2021.

He contacted priests in prison, posing as a gendarme, policeman or judge, mentioned a fraud investigation and thus obtained the bank details of the victims. In addition, he sometimes said that he was married to one of the priests and that he had great financial difficulties.

Police have identified 62 victims of this scam across France, aged between 69 and 94. Damages were estimated at 440,000 euros.

According to Agerpres, the head of the network adopted the modus operandi from his father, who organized a similar scam in the 90s.