MaPrimeRénov’ had become their spell. A sort of incantation which, in a few months, allowed them to bewitch more than 380 victims throughout France and thus participate in the embezzlement of nearly 27 million euros. Eight salespeople involved in a vast fraud were identified before being questioned, in open hearing or in police custody, by the gendarmes of the Versailles research section (Yvelines). The end of a long investigation opened more than 4 years ago, in September 2020, by the Nanterre public prosecutor’s office (Hauts-de-Seine).
In this sprawling issue, these eight self-employed salespeople played a central role. They are the ones who, between 2019 and 2021, knocked on the doors of low-income individuals, often in precarious situations, to extol the merits and financial advantages offered by aid schemes, in particular those of MaPrimeRénov’, State aid for intended for owners who wish to carry out energy renovation work.