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Former French PM Fillon Guilty of Fraud

VOA News

   AParisiancourt Monday found former French Prime Minister Francois
   Fillon guilty of using public money to pay his wife morethan$1 million
   for work she never performed.

   Fillonwassentencedto five years in prison--three years suspended--and
   finedmorethan $423,000. He is also barredfromrunning forpublicofficefor
   10 years.

   Hiswife, Penelope,was convicted as anaccomplice. She was given a
   three-yearsuspendedsentenceandwasalsofined more than$423,000. Both are
   free pendingappeal,which theirlawyerssaythey will do.

   ''Naturally, this decision, which is not fair, is going to be
   appealed.'¦ The ludicrous conditions under which this investigation was
   triggered, the scandalous conditions in which the discovery was opened,
   thesurprisingconditions in which the investigation was then run,"
   Fillion's attorney Antonin Levysaid.

   Penelope Fillion's attorney, PierreCornut-Gentille, says prosecutors
   failed to determine whether her activitiesweresimply traditional help
   and supporta politician's wife gives her husband.

   She said herdutiesincludedwriting reports about local issues, reading
   mail,preparingspeechesandmeetingwith voters--work she said allowed her
   to have a flexiblescheduleand still raise her children.

   Prosecutorsargued that there was little evidencethatPenelope
   Fillioneverworkedand said her salary wasexcessive.

   Fillion's lawyers argued that the state cannotinterferewith how a
   politician setsuphis office.

   The scandal broke shortly before the 2017 French presidential election
   where Fillon went from being the front-runner to finishing in third
   place.

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