The audience of September 29 at the Paris court highlighted the internal mechanics of Aristophil, through the hearings of the accountant Denis Potier, the expert in autographs and manuscripts Jean-Claude Vrain and Gérard Lhéritier, founder of the group pursued for scam in organized gang.
First at the helm, Denis Potier recalled that he had exhorted Gérard Lhéritier in 2007 to sell parts to preserve financial balance. “Selling was the sine qua no condition, otherwise the company was going to collapse”he insisted, emphasizing that by below a resale threshold of 60 %, Aristophil became in deficit. He admitted that he was temporarily reassured by the announcement of a sale of the Einstein manuscript at 38 million euros (the buyer finally withdrew).
Jean-Claude Vrain was then faced with a video shot in 2013 during a training organized under the Aristophil brand. However, he denied having trained the salespeople, explaining that he had delivered only a presentation on the history of the manuscript market. “It is not in fifty minutes that I can train salespeople”he carried away, rejecting any complacency. However, the court noted that at no time did he speak of “Aristophil products”. Asked about spectacular sales – like a letter from Flaubert to Victor Hugo bought € 2,350 and sold € 100,000 (“The bookseller who sold it to me knew nothing about it”) – He conceded that he had a merchant, claiming to have always set prices that he estimated just and treated Aristophil as a professional customer.
The interrogation of Gérard Lhéritier then occupied the debates at the end of the afternoon. The president of the court returned to its judicial history in Strasbourg and Luxembourg. Lhéritier admitted having sometimes trusted sellers too much, but defended his model. Faced with accusations of a market “In closed circuit”he replied that he rarely sold immediately, preferring to store and classify by specialty. Regarding an internal study which tapped on an annual increase of 10 % of the manuscript market, he denied any manipulation: “I always believe in this progression, maybe even underestimated”.
The Court spoke at length the extensions of joint ownership, validated according to him by an internal committee and by the customers themselves, those who refused being reimbursed. For the heir, Aristophil was intended to buy everything: “At no time was there any default”he assures, excluding the assumption of an unpaid customer. The prosecutor recalled that the statutory auditors alerted in 2007, as well as his accountant, but that the heir had continued his strategy and continues to think that“Aristophil was an excellent model”. He justified his perseverance by the prospect of international development and the creation of a sales center, imputing his difficulties to the Ministry of Culture and the DGCCRF (repression of fraud).
His gain of 170 million euros at Euromillions in 2012 was then mentioned. He said he reinjected 40 million into Aristophil: “If I had been able to save the company, I would have put it more”. The president noted, not without irony, that“It is rare for a crook to inject his personal funds into his own scam”.
The day ended with the opening of the pleadings of the civil parties. More than twenty lawyers were present, including Me Eva Abecassis, who defended Ms. Rivivolzi, both a victim and questioned by her own clients, demanding more than € 500,000 in repairs. Several advice insisted on the situation of savers, often modest, who had not been heard for more than ten years and hope for this trial full of their damage.
The pleadings of the civil parties continue today, followed by the indictment.
