A lie turns moped test drive sour

He pretended the moped had been stolen so he could use it over the weekend.

Tried in absentia on 13 February, a 49-year-old man from Marseille was stopped during a police check in Monaco on 9 October and surprised to learn of the earlier trial and conviction. He was immediately taken into custody.

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“I didn’t know anything about it. I was shocked!” he said. He had not been informed of the ruling, which was sent to the wrong address. He had to stay in prison while awaiting a new trial for “breach of trust,” and objected to his conviction eight days after learning about the verdict.

A case that dates back to June 2023

On 23 June 2023, the man, who has lived successively in Beausoleil, Monaco and Menton with his family, went to a Monegasque moped dealer to replace his “ageing” vehicle. “It isn’t the first time I’ve bought a moped from them.” True, the man from Marseille is on first-name terms with the staff and asked to test drive a second-hand model.

The first “stupid thing” he admitted to, was going to Nice on the scooter to look for a job. Given travel time, he realised he wouldn’t make it back before the store closed on the Friday evening. So he called to explain that the scooter had been stolen, that he was at the Beausoleil police station and that he “won’t be able to bring the scooter back until Monday.” “I made it up to buy some time,” explained the defendant.

When Monday came around, while he was having a coffee in Menton and waiting for the shop to open, he asked two youngsters he knew to put petrol in the moped. Meantime, he was arrested by the police in connection with a case involving his ex-wife, whose life he had threatened according to the deputy public prosecutor. He told the police that two youngsters had left with the moped and asked them to find them so he could return it to the dealer.

A mix-up ensued: he didn’t read the document, and signed a complaint against the two young men. The dealer alerted the police because the moped hadn’t been returned. The manager said he didn’t know the customer, despite the defendant calling everyone by their first name and no one asking for identification. The defendant’s lawyer believed his client to be known to the manager, who was seeking to absolve himself of any wrongdoing.

A “farcical” situation

The deputy public prosecutor described the situation as “farcical.” The defendant admitted his mistakes and explained that he came to the Côte d’Azur to bring his children back to his ex-wife and to look for a job so he could be closer to them. Supported by his former employer in Beausoleil, who describes him as “conscientious and respectful,” he admitted that difficulties in recent years, including a painful separation and a depression that led to him being admitted to hospital, have affected him deeply.

He admitted to having “made mistakes” during that “dark time.” After a tax reassessment, he had to find money by any means necessary and was under “huge pressure,” particularly from his ex-wife.

“I’m a hard worker. Today, everything is back to normal and I’ve got my life back on track,” he said. Unfortunately for him, the court nevertheless sentenced him to three months’ imprisonment for “breach of trust.”