The Fez Court of First Instance sentenced a private security guard working at a bank in Midelt to five years in prison and a fine of 30,000 dirhams in absentia, accused of embezzling tens of thousands of dirhams from customers’ accounts.
The accused had fled after defrauding dozens of victims from the region, most of whom were women. Only seven of the more than 50 victims, including five women, appeared before the court. The court also heard the testimony of the director and an employee of the banking agency where the accused worked.
They reported that the accused would approach his victims and take advantage of their illiteracy, offering to help them open bank accounts to gain their trust and obtain their personal documents. He would then urge them to request bank cards, which he would keep after receiving them and withdraw their money.
It is estimated that the accused embezzled more than one million dirhams from the accounts of his widows, divorced women and housewives. The director of the agency confirmed that she compensated the victims for the embezzled funds, but the seven victims present denied this, confirming that the amounts withdrawn from their accounts ranged from 17,000 to 150,000 dirhams.
From the website: Fez News