Overview
- The tribunal found Lhéritier ran a Ponzi-like scheme that lured savers with about 8% annual returns on fractional stakes in rare manuscripts sold through brokers.
- Lhéritier received five years in prison with a delayed arrest warrant and a €375,000 fine, and he was absent from the hearing for health reasons.
- Co-defendants were ordered to compensate victims, with the company’s accountant given two years’ imprisonment partly suspended, five others receiving suspended terms, and expert bookseller Jean‑Claude Vrain acquitted.
- Investigators and the court cite losses approaching €1 billion, with roughly 18,000 clients affected and nearly 8,000 recognized as civil parties.
- Prosecutors had sought six years and an immediate committal, the organized-fraud charge was not retained, and auctions to date have returned only about 7% of investors’ money.