A Nice merchant has been sentenced by the Nice criminal court for a vast fraud involving ADA cards, intended for asylum seekers. The investigation uncovered a system of cash withdrawals via “cashback” operations in several stores. Between 2022 and 2025, nearly 5 million euros passed through nearly 3,900 OFII cards.
The Nice criminal court has sentenced a 58-year-old merchant for fraud involving ADA cards, the allowance for asylum seekers paid by the French Office for Immigration and Integration (OFII). The case involves financial flows estimated at nearly 5 million euros between January 2022 and August 2025.
The case began in January 2025 after a man was found in possession of around ten OFII bank cards, an asylum application form in a third party’s name, and several fund transfer receipts. Taken into custody, the suspect described “cashback” operations. The procedure involved converting the amounts credited to ADA cards into cash in partner stores, even though these cards are exclusively intended for the purchase of basic necessities.
Prosecuted separately, this man was sentenced to three years imprisonment with probation for complicity in fraud.
Three stores used for cash withdrawals
The investigation, led by the Nice prosecutor’s office and conducted by OLTIM and GIR-SIPJ 06, identified three stores belonging to the same operator. The investigations revealed massive cash withdrawals at the beginning of each month, a period corresponding to OFII benefit payments.
Analysis of the bank accounts of the companies involved revealed nearly 3,900 ADA cards used between January 2022 and August 2025. According to investigators, the merchant took a commission of 10% on each transaction. Several fund transfers to Italy, Albania, Germany, Georgia, and Ukraine were also identified.
The Nice Republic’s prosecutor, Damien Martinelli, states in a statement “an organized system of predation on national solidarity funds.”
Arrested on May 5, 2026, the merchant admitted to all the facts in custody. Searches led to the seizure of 16,800 euros at his home, 55,600 euros in a store located on Paganini Street, nearly 9,000 euros from bank accounts, and two vehicles, a Dacia Spring and a Mazda MX-30. The total amount of seizures exceeds 100,000 euros.
Imprisonment, electronic monitoring and management ban
In the context of a conviction on the basis of a prior admission of guilt, the court sentenced the defendant for fraud in an organized group, money laundering of organized group fraud, money laundering, and illegal operation of payment service provider activities.
The sentence includes three years imprisonment, of which two years with probation for three years. The custodial year will be served under electronic monitoring. The court also imposed a fine of 200,000 euros, forfeiture of all seized assets, a permanent ban on running a business, and deprivation of eligibility rights for five years.
According to the Nice criminal court, “nearly five million euros were diverted over a period of 44 months.”
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