Susan Bell In Paris
Published in The Scotsman May 11, 2001
TWO Scottish brothers suspected of swindling 2,700 people out of nearly 100 million francs by selling them non-existent
timeshares in exotic locations are to stand trial in Paris later this month.
Scott and Steven Miller are to be tried at the Palais de Justice starting on 21 May for "misleading advertising,
criminal activities in an organised gang and breach of trust".
During a trial that is expected to last three weeks, the brothers will be confronted with many of their alleged
victims, who saw their holiday dreams turn into a financial nightmare.
Scott Miller, 38, who police say has been on the run for a year, was arrested in Spain a few days ago and extradited
to France, spending Wednesday night in a cell in Paris’s La Santé prison. He will join his brother and eight
alleged accomplices, mainly former employees of the Millers, in answering evidence gathered during a three-year
investigation by a judge, Marie-Pierre Maligner-Peyron.
The affair began in 1993 when, according to a report in yesterday’s Le Parisien, the alleged tricksters used fake
competitions and prize draws run through furnishings stores and car showrooms to target potential victims. The
contest "winners" received a week’s holiday in Tenerife, Málaga or Gaudeloupe for the refundable
fee of 500 francs (£48), which they were told was to cover reservation expenses.
In fact all those who entered the contest were "winners" - the competition serving simply to lure people
into a relaxed holiday atmosphere where they would be pressured to buy non-existent timeshares by salesmen representing
the Millers’ company, CSV.
"Several consumers felt they were being abused, pressured and held hostage," said the prosecutor’s report.
As for the 500 francs, in most cases it was never refunded, allegedly allowing the Millers to amass 117,000 francs
before the scam had even properly got under way.
About half the 6,000 "winners" fell into the trap, Le Parisien said, paying an average of 100,000 francs
for a non-existent timeshare. "People believed they had bought a week of holiday time every year in one of
CSV’s holiday complexes - the Green Lagoon," said Pierre Alfredo, lawyer for 1,710 of the victims who have
formed an association to bring a civil action.
Brochures vaunted the possibility of staying in 50 countries around the world and in more than 2,000 holiday complexes.
The victims however, claim they were being sold so much hot air.
"The world proposed by CSV was nothing but an illusion because in all the destinations offered, such as Morocco,
Turkey, Guadeloupe, Mexico or Cuba, the company did not own any real estate in the holiday complexes," an
investigators’ report was quoted as saying by Le Parisien.
"In fact, they [the victims] were led to believe that they owned apartments, when in fact they had nothing,"
Mr Alfredo said.
Two other companies, Derberry and Logisitics, both run by an alleged accomplice of the Millers, Alain Zemour, were
also allegedly involved in the scam.
According to Le Parisien, the prosecution has collected an impressive number of accounts from victims, testifying
to the way they were pressurised into buying the timeshares.
"Right from the day after we arrived we were harassed. We were told over and over of the advantages [of the
timeshare]. Faced with our hesitation, the insults began, combined with threats that we would have to pay for our
hotel plus 4,000 francs each for our plane tickets.
"We ended up signing, although I warned them I couldn’t invest that much money just for a holiday. We were
worried and we tried to cancel the very next day, but they became even more aggressive and we never saw the original
contract again," said one French couple who lost 12,000 francs in the scam.
The brothers will plead not guilty. "None of the accusations hold water," said Steven Miller’s lawyer
yesterday.
(c) Copyright The Scotsman. All rights reserved. To see more of The Scotsman, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.thescotsman.co.uk
To read this article online at The Scottsman, go to http://www.thescotsman.co.uk/world.cfm?id=71271