A hundred or so investors are suing Michael Fraysse, the boss of CN2i, a Toulouse investment company. They accuse him of having set up a financial scam similar to that orchestrated by Bernard Madoff. The businessman denies these accusations. 20 million euros would have evaporated in nature.
The brochure makes your mouth water. CN2i, a Toulouse financial investment company of all kinds, promises with the Serenity villages “an innovative rental investment” that rides on the “grandpa-boom” and “the increase in life expectancy”. This involves financing senior residences within prestigious properties throughout Occitanie, such as Auch, Montech and Saint-Elix-le-Château. Guaranteed return: 5% per year.
In reality, this is just window dressing, no serious investment has been made. The ADMR, an association with a social vocation, with a very solid reputation, has never been a partner in the project, as the brochure stipulates.
Holding in agony
All this is the latest avatar of a dying holding company, placed on February 8 in receivership by the Toulouse Commercial Court. Its founder, Michael Fraysse, a solid fellow, with a jovial tone and a loud talk, risks having to explain himself to justice very soon.
Me Ibrahima Bangoura, a lawyer specializing in business law, filed a complaint on January 7 once morest this businessman, on an extended stay abroad, for “fraud and breach of trust”. He suspects him of having scammed no less than 400 families. What Michael Fraysse denies as a whole.
“According to my assessments, overall, we are approaching 20 million losses for investors,” assures Me Bangoura. This lawyer from Toulouse defends the interests of ten households who have trusted the businessman. The Meillet law firm in Paris, which defends 110 investors, also filed a complaint once morest the boss of CN2i, before the Paris financial prosecutor’s office. It was forwarded to the public prosecutor of Toulouse. “Most of the victims are retirees who were looking to capitalize in order to ensure their old age or bequeath a small nest egg to their children. This affects all walks of life. People who have invested a few tens of thousands of euros up to 600,000 for the biggest contributors, ”reveals Me Bangoura.
“We can imagine that he set up a Ponzi scheme”
The business law specialist thinks that Michael Fraysse let himself be carried away by his own success to the point of using a system that is similar to the scam set up by the late Bernard Madoff. “The first few years, everything was going well. Investors praised the seriousness and efficiency of Michael Fraysse. He sold “solar kits”: shares in photovoltaic power plants. Profitability was guaranteed because EDF buys back production at a fixed price. Yield 6% annually. The problem is that it continued to welcome new investors without buying new plants. One can imagine that he set up what is called a Ponzi scheme. Basically, he paid the dividends of the first investors with the capital brought in by the new ones. It will be up to the courts to verify if this has been the case. »
The pandemic changes everything
The system collapsed like a house of cards at the height of the health crisis. “In 2020 for the first time since the creation of CN2i, it did not pay the annual returns on the pretext of the pandemic and that it was necessary to support the hotel sector of the holding company. This created a panic effect among investors, everyone wanted to withdraw their marbles at the same time. Michaël Fraysse found himself unable to repay them, ”says the business lawyer.
Since then, the man of the law has tried to recover the money from his clients. In vain. “The commercial court agreed with us last July. Michaël Fraysse was ordered to reimburse everything. No money has yet reached us, ”he says.
The investigation is progressing. The AMF, the watchdog of the financial markets, reported CN2i’s actions to the legal authorities. They are currently reporting the financial flows of the holding company.
