He was the first French jihadist sentenced on his return from Syria for having joined the ranks of radical Islamists. Nearly three years after his release from prison, that of Condé-sur-Sarthe, Flavien Moreau appeared again before French justice on Monday, this time for acts of fraud. He was sentenced to 18 months in prison by the Nantes criminal court.
Aged 36, Flavien Moreau was prosecuted for having paid for numerous purchases by means of bad checks, since linked to bank accounts just terminated, for a total loss of 140,000 euros. A hundred traders were victims of his maneuvers, which began in 2020, shortly after his release from detention, and lasted around three years. Denounced by a jeweler, he was finally arrested on July 1 in Nancy. He had since been imprisoned in the Nancy remand center.
Heavy past of delinquent
Flavien Moreau was sentenced in November 2014 to seven years in prison for his departure for Syria. Originally from Nantes, he has since lived partly in Loire-Atlantique. After having fallen into delinquency (13 convictions), this South Korean of origin, adopted very young by a French family, had converted to Islam in contact with friends and neighbors, before becoming radicalized then go to Syria in 2012.
Returning to France after a few months, he was spotted by the anti-terrorist services and arrested in January 2013 when he was planning to return to Syria. He claimed not to have taken part in any combat.