In the dinners of good Angevin society, the rumor ran that the offer was irresistible. The brochure promised “high yield alternative investments” with a “guaranteed capital”. But above all, you had to see this exciting young trader, whose courage and ambition amazed the guests. Guillain Méjane, a graduate of a management school, son of a countess from the region, former Microsoft employee, had even overcome his handicap to climb Kilimanjaro, with his prostheses in both legs and in his right arm, in a program of prime time on TF1. The proposal, through his Hong Kong-registered company NFT Investment, embarked on the dreams of fortune of this little aristocratic “who’s who”.
Ten years later, all that remains of these promises of wealth is the bitter memory of a collective bankruptcy. About fifty of Guillain Méjane’s clients are now the civil parties to his trial, which begins in the Paris court on Monday March 6. The one who presented himself as a trading expert is suspected of fraud and tax evasion laundering. Instead of staggering capital gains, he leaves a slate of nearly 16 million euros, squandered on the financial markets and on personal expenses. Before the court, this ace of sales pitch will not have to explain the mechanisms of high-yield speculation, but those of the “Ponzi pyramid”, this model of scam which made him pass from the nickname of “little genius of finance” to that of “Madoff de Maine-et-Loire”.
Stratospheric capital gains
The project was born from a childhood friendship. A complementary duo of two sons from a good family. Guillain is the gambler, the risk-all, the chatter passionate about stock market trading. In 2011, he was just fired from Microsoft for serious misconduct. Gaëtan, an engineer from Arts et Métiers, more composed, has just finished three years of contracts on oil platforms. He too is looking for a new challenge to relaunch his career.
The young engineer also had a surname which facilitated access to the great families of Anjou: Odart de Rilly d’Oysonville. He will be the administrator of the company, but above all the “provider of customers”. He doesn’t have to explore very far. His sales rep work begins with his own family. Then, from dinner parties to evening, word-of-mouth works wonders. These two promise to turn dormant savings into stratospheric capital gains.
From the first months, customers flocked. Some are back in the pot even before seeing the first profits. A chatelaine, who confided to the investigators that she had fallen “ in love » of Guillain Méjane, paid 200,000 euros then an additional 100,000 euros, grayed out by the “ charming emails that wanted to be reassuring of the stockbroker. Which even promises to donate 10% of the jackpot of his company to charities.
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