Marie-José, 82 years old, a retired French woman, left France to live with a young Ivorian man, 28, met on Facebook, suspected to be a scammer. Since September 2024, when she arrived in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, she claims to be living a love story, while her family denounces emotional fraud that emptied her bank accounts.
The case is chilling and reignites concerns about romance scams targeting seniors. Marie-José, a French retiree of 82, left her home in Normandy in the fall of 2024 to join “Christ,” a young Ivorian she met on Facebook, whom she refers to as her companion.
But for her son Xavier, 61, it’s a large-scale manipulation that has already swallowed more than 100,000 euros of family assets.
A Virtual Romance Turned Concrete Exile
It all began in June 2024, when Marie-José, grieving and isolated, got in touch with a man pretending to be the host Frédéric Lopez. Quickly unmasked, the impostor gave way to “Christ,” who managed to establish a trustful relationship. Three months later, without notifying her relatives, she flew to Côte d’Ivoire.
Since then, her family has been cut off from her. Her bank transfers of 3,000 euros of pension per month disappear within 48 hours, attempts to liquidate life insurance have been observed, and her French home risks illegal occupation. The 28-year-old man who now shares her life in Abidjan screens phone calls, answering on behalf of Marie-José.
Authorities Inert in the Face of Alleged Control
Despite two complaints filed in Rouen for a worrying disappearance and fraud, and multiple warnings at the French embassy in Abidjan, the justice system considers Marie-José “an adult, lucid, and free in her choices.” The prosecutor has closed the case due to the lack of tangible evidence of physical violence.
Yet, her relatives are concerned because the victim’s profile, isolated, diabetic, and digitally disconnected, matches the targets of scammers perfectly. “They refuse to verify if this woman is truly free in her decisions. Her autonomy is an illusion,” lamented Me Nadège Fusina, the family’s lawyer.
According to her, the situation reveals a serious flaw in the protection of vulnerable seniors abroad. On her part, Marie-José claims to be “perfectly happy,” but Xavier, her son, notes a “very similar language to that of scam victims.”
“She talks as if she’s reading from a script. She has cut all ties with her grandchildren. She misses her granddaughter’s wedding,” he denounced. Today, he considers going to Côte d’Ivoire but fears he might not succeed in locating his mother in the complexities of Abidjan.
This story is not an isolated case. In 2024, another victim believed she was communicating with Brad Pitt and lost 830,000 euros. Social networks have become a hunting ground for seasoned scammers, playing on emotional distress, isolation, and the need for connection.