Two individuals were convicted on Friday for having orchestrated massive fraud on the Linky meter, in the Burgundy-Franche-Comté region.
Like others before them, they managed to manipulate hundreds of Linky electric meters in Burgundy-Franche-Comté. By opening the small green devices, the thugs installed a bypass device with surprising properties, capable of artificially reducing the recorded electricity consumption by up to 75%, just that! The public prosecutor, Étienne Manteaux, indicated that everyone, from the fraudsters to the customers benefiting from the scam, were responsible. But how did all this come together?
Hundreds of Linky meters tampered with
Let’s start with the most recent event. Friday, December 15, two people were sentenced in Besançon, for having implemented major fraud by an organized gang, on numerous electricity meters. The individuals posed as a technician (31 years old) for one, and as a business provider (46 years old) for the other.
Together, they had developed a very sophisticated stratagem, which consisted of opening the Linky meters and installing a diversion system. Reproduced on hundreds of other devices, the fraud made it possible to artificially reduce the electricity consumption recorded by Enedis by up to 75%.
The operation was repeated among hundreds of people and companies. Even elected officials took advantage of it, which confirms the prosecutor in his classification of the facts as “ organized gang fraud ”, including end customers. Note that each tampered meter brought in between 1,000 and 2,500 euros for the two individuals.
The two masterminds convicted, and for the complicit clients, it won’t be long
The two technicians received various penalties. The “technician” was sentenced to two years in prison, one of which was suspended on probation. Add to this first sentence the obligation to reimburse Enedis, but also a fine of 10,000 euros. And that’s not all: the latter will not be able to manage a business for the next 15 years. He was also deprived of multiple valuables.
As for the “business provider”, the sentences are lighter: only one year in prison with suspended probation for him, to which we must add the obligation to reimburse Enedis, a lesser evil. But we were talking to you about organized gangs, and clients…
Complicit consumers will also be prosecuted criminally. They should undoubtedly be fined and will have to comply with the reimbursement requests issued, rightly, by the supplier Enedis, who welcomed the response of the Besançon court, railing against “ energy theft “.
Prosecutor Manteaux also warns of a real expansion of the phenomenon, encouraging the people concerned to regularize their situation before the authorities intervene. Enedis, for its part, recalled that the fraudulent modification of an electrical installation, like Linky, presents a legal risk, of course, but also a risk of fire or electrocution. Better to think twice before taking action.
Source : The Parisian
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