Court convicts second mamie loto

A PENSIONER who organised illegal prize bingo games in a cafe in Nord department, has been handed a 10-month suspended prison sentence and fined €45,000.

The Criminal Court of Dunkirk found Josiane Deprey, 64, guilty of organising dozens of prize prize draws in L'Hofland cafe in Wormhout between 2010 and 2014 without declaring any earnings to the tax authorities.

Ms Deprey was convicted of not declaring any of the €270,000 prosecutors said she turned over while running the events.

She kept no accounts, prosecutors said, and paid rent on the room in the cafe in cash - but their estimate of the amount of money she received was rejected by her lawyer, who added that she donated proceeds from her activities to a local charity.

"If she had bought a big car, if she had an apartment in her name ... but she lives with her daughter," her lawyer said, adding that she had less than €1,000 in her bank account and drives a 10-year-old car.

It is not the first time Ms Deprey has been convicted for such an offence. In 2008, tax authorities criticised her for offering cash prizes. Speaking at the time, an Ms Deprey said she would offer gift cards instead.

Ms Deprey is the latest “animateur” to be taken to court for organising unlicenced prize draws – with one previous case seeing the organiser fined €2.6million. And, last year, “mamie loto” Yvette Bert, 77, was fined €123,000 for illegally organising scores of charity “loto” prize draws.

Gaming laws in France prohibit draws which have a prize fund of more than €20.

The manager of the cafe was acquitted of complicity in organising prohibited lotteries.

Photo: Marlon E