MRE couple sentenced for serious offences near Montpellier

Tried in particular for the offences of undeclared work, employing foreigners without work permits, aiding illegal residence and subjecting people to undignified working conditions, a Moroccan couple living in Grabels, on the northern outskirts of Montpellier, were given a prison sentence and a fine.

The criminal court sentenced a 54-year-old Moroccan to a two-year suspended prison sentence and a fine of €15,000. His wife, also Moroccan, was given a one-year suspended sentence and a fine of €5,000. The couple is required to jointly pay a fine of €99,000 to the Mutualité sociale agricole – MSA – for unpaid contributions and to compensate three of the four victims to the tune of €39,923, €49,200 and €23,700 in damages and moral prejudice, for a total of €230,000, reports Actu.frThe couple is accused of having exploited agricultural workers, via an illegal network dismantled in 2021 by the Office for the Fight against Illegal Migrant Labor, Oltim.