A seasoned conman from Villerupt, a Luxembourg national, and several accomplices have been sentenced in France for their roles in a cross-border prostitution ring operating between northeastern France and Luxembourg.

The investigation was launched following phone taps on the mobile phone of a man named Georges, already well known to the French justice system, according to Le Républicain Lorrain. Georges, a resident of Villerupt in Meurthe-et-Moselle, had previously faced legal proceedings for identity fraud in attempts to defraud credit companies. However, his latest scheme landed him at the centre of a prostitution network stretching across the French-Luxembourg border.

Georges was reportedly recruiting sex workers and offering them places to work in a building owned by his associate Fernando in Villerupt. Between July 2022 and March 2023, Fernando, who owned the building, let out several flats to sex workers. According to court documents cited by Le Républicain Lorrain, three of his seven apartments were rented to women involved in prostitution.

A fourth was used by his former partner, the mother of his child, who was also involved in sex work. The Luxembourg national helped advertise their services online and occasionally picked up the women directly from the airport.

Despite these activities, Fernando claimed he made very little profit from the rentals, saying he charged €450 per week or €50 per night. However, banking records showed that in 2022 he earned an average of €4,000 per month, despite being officially unemployed.

Fernando’s partner and sister were also implicated. His partner acted as a go-between, collecting rent payments when Fernando was unavailable. Meanwhile, his sister, who at the time managed a café in Luxembourg with rooms available for rent, would host sex workers when her brother’s flats were already full. Both denied any wrongdoing, but wiretaps revealed they were fully aware of their involvement.

The court in Val de Briey sentenced Georges to five years in prison and issued a ten-year ban from entering French territory. Fernando received a four-year prison term with immediate detention, a five-year ban from France, and had both his car and the property used in the operation confiscated. His partner received a one-year suspended sentence, while his sister was given an eighteen-month suspended sentence and a three-year ban from France.