A woman pretended to be a victim of the Paris terror attacks in order to claim thousands in compensation.
The unnamed 25-year-old, from Yvelines in the Île de France region of the French capital, faces five years in prison for fraud and a fine of €375,000 after telling investigators she had been injured in a suicide bombing at the Carillon bar.
She used fake photographs of burn victims as her evidence and told police she had had a miscarriage during the attack, in an attempt to get €20,000 in compensation despite not being pregnant at the time, according to Le Parisien.
Suspicions were raised immediately by the fact that terrorists had used machine guns at the Le Carillon bar but there had been no bombing there on November 13.
The woman came forward to police the day after the attacks, claiming her arms had been severely burned, although investigators noted she was not in shock and did not appear to act like a victim.
Officers found the images she provided were identical to photos of other burns victims on the internet, after which the woman was charged and taken into custody in January.
It also emerged that the doctor who had apparently signed the woman’s medical certificate was not registered as working at a Paris hospital on the evening of the attacks.
She is due to be sentenced on June 13 at Versailles criminal court.
Terrorists killed 130 people during a series of coordinated attacks on the French capital, with 15 shot dead at Le Carillon in the 10th arrondissement.
The attacks provoked an international outpouring of sympathy and nearby nations tightened up their security measures in response.
