Photographer Gets Prison Sentence for Swindling L’Oréal Heiress
PARIS — A French court has sentenced a celebrity photographer to three years in prison for swindling the L’Oréal heiress Liliane Bettencourt out of millions of euros, but it acquitted a former minister who served under the former President Nicolas Sarkozy.
The decision by the court in the southwestern city of Bordeaux was the culmination of a sprawling and complex trial that ensnared members of Ms. Bettencourt’s staff and entourage, as well as politicians who were accused of scheming to swindle money from the 92-year-old billionaire.
The photographer, François-Marie Banier, was found guilty of “abuse of weakness” and money laundering. He was handed a three-year prison sentence, of which six months are suspended; he will also have to pay Ms. Bettencourt 158 million euros, or $173 million, in damages and a €350,000 fine.
Éric Woerth, who was treasurer for Nicolas Sarkozy’s successful 2007 presidential campaign and then became one of his ministers, was cleared of charges that he exploited Ms. Bettencourt for campaign donations. While Mr. Sarkozy also came under scrutiny in the case, French judges dropped an investigation into charges against him in 2013.
Liliane Bettencourt, heiress to the L’Oréal fortune.
BENOIT TESSIER / REUTERS
The case started in 2007, when Ms. Bettencourt’s daughter sued Mr. Banier and accused him of exploiting the heiress’s diminished mental state to obtain millions of euros in gifts, artworks and other favors.
The case captivated France for years. Others were caught in the legal and political developments, especially after it was revealed that Ms. Bettencourt’s butler had secretly recorded dozens of hours of conversations between the heiress and her entourage.
Over all, eight of the 10 defendants in the case, including several of Ms. Bettencourt’s former wealth managers and Mr. Banier’s longtime companion, were found guilty and handed sentences that ranged from heavy fines to prison time.
The case of Alain Thurin, a former nurse for Ms. Bettencourt who attempted to commit suicide on the eve of the trial, will be heard in October.
According to Forbes Magazine, Ms. Bettencourt is the second-richest woman in the world, with a net worth of more than $40 billion.
Correction: May 29, 2015
An earlier version of this article misstated the net worth of the L’Oréal heiress Liliane Bettencourt. It is more than $40 billion, not $40 million.
