Apollonia Scam: Jean Badache Blames Everyone, Including the Victims

In the fifth week of a trial in which more than 750 former clients of this Aix-en-Provence wealth management firm have filed civil suits, the former shoe merchant turned wealthy business leader, on trial for organized fraud, has fiercely contested his responsibility.

"I blame myself, I was negligent from 2006 onwards," was Jean Badache's only admission during a long interrogation.

Tried with four of his sales representatives, former employees, three notaries and a lawyer for having contributed to the over-indebtedness of Apollonia's clients, he pushed them to acquire real estate - up to forty for some - which was supposed to be self-financing via the status of professional furnished rental (LMP).

According to Jean Badache, Apollonia's clients, his "partners" as he calls them, were primarily doctors with "significant and consistent incomes." And "the operation was viable," he maintained steadfastly, placing the blame for the collapse of his business model—the fraud is estimated at nearly a billion euros in total—on all the other players in the case.

The banks, he claimed, were aware of the pile-up of loans taken out on Apollonia's clients—up to €4 million for one of them—which was out of all proportion to their income. His lawyer and the notaries, who "steered him toward a stupid idea," suggested there was a complete disconnect between the investors' professional and personal debts.

"Like a Christmas turkey"

The clients themselves are being singled out by Jean Badache for having used the VAT refund windfall obtained through LMP status for other purposes, when they should have invested this money to avoid finding themselves in a cash flow crunch.

The investors "did not do what was asked of them, and the creation of (the Apollonia victims' association) by three grumpy old men interrupted the process," he accused.

But it was towards his former sales representatives and employees, accused of lying, that Jean Badache had the harshest words, denying himself having given instructions to falsify investors' bank statements so that the files would pass through the banks.

"Neither directly nor indirectly did I allow or incite the forgery. The employees acted on their own initiative," he assured.

The former Apollonia boss was, however, accused of being the principal, the one who chose which clients to "optimize" in order to secure a second round of financing for new real estate investments. "At the cost of falsifying documents," a secretary accused the court.

At the bar, demonstrating exceptional sales talent - "I'm too talkative!" - the septuagenarian denied having given in to the lure of gain.

"I don't work on the idea of ​​having more money; I already earned a lot," explained the former boss, described as a "guru" by his employees. As proof, he explained before the court, "in one morning in Switzerland, I bought a chalet (Editor's note: in Crans-Montana, for six million euros) and a Porsche."

Today, the man who used to order 200.000 euros worth of wine and two kilos of caviar from his butler for New Year's Eve says he is ruined: "I went from the Maldives to the Bishopric (Editor's note: the Marseille police station) and Les Baumettes (Editor's note: the Marseille prison) in four months."

And when the president, Azanie Julien-Rama, questions the value of the many jewels seized, Jean Badache has no illusions: "If we are convicted, they will leave us with our backsides ripped like a Christmas turkey."

After Jean Badache, the Marseille Criminal Court will hear his wife Viviane Badache on Tuesday, in order to understand her role in the operation of Apollonia.