What Is Fortune Teller Scandal? Scam That Marred French Town

This scandal gained more highlight after it happened with the town’s mayor, Gilles d’Ettore, a former secret service officer and police officer.

One of the most enigmatic scandals took place in the town of Agde on the Mediterranean coast which has always stolen the hearts of people with its beautiful sandy beaches and year-round sun. This place is the home of Europe’s biggest swinger community. Many couples come across the Europe swap partners. It also gained a reputation for wild sex parties.

But recently, the place has gained an entirely new scandal which left the rest of France shaking its head in dismay. This scandal involved a Fortune Teller and the town’s mayor, Gilles d’Ettore, a former secret service officer and police officer. Fortune teller Sophia Martinez and the mayor are now behind bars. While Martinez, faces charges of embezzling the mayor, d’Ettore is accused of corruption for spending lavish amounts of taxpayers’ money on her.

How The Case Started?

The Fortune Teller is famous for allegedly being able to speak to the dead. Mayor d’Ettore got in touch with her asking her to put him in touch with his deceased father. The fortune teller allegedly succeeded in doing that. While performing seances, her voice suddenly changed taking the tone of the mayor’s father, said the BBC report.

Dubious Calls

However, the Fortune Teller allegedly manipulated the Mayor with her unmatched ventriloquist skills as d’Ettore got mystery calls in the last four years. The mayor received thousands of mysterious calls from “voices” of the dead,  including angels. In the call, some of them urged the mayor to help the Fortune Teller, which led to corruption. 

The mayor used the public funds to pay a lavish holidays for Martinez and her family, from Polynesia to Thailand.  It is purported that the 'voices' convinced him to hire several members of her family to work for the town council. Not only this, also asked to renovate her home. 

The mayor’s lawyer Jean Marc Darrigade said that the Fortune Teller found a mental weakness in the Mayor and exploited it for personal gain. Fortune Teller Martinez's lawyer Luc Abratkiewicz countered the allegations by saying it is not a manipulation because she has owned up to what she did.