Former Prime Minister of France, François Fillon and his Welsh wife, Penelope, were both sentenced to jail on Monday for public funds embezzlement as part of the “fake job” scandal.
Francois was found guilty of charges of establishing a fake job for his wife with taxpayers money by a court in France.
The 66- year-old former Prime Minister was accused of founding a position that paid his wife above €1 million ($1.13 million) in public funds. That charge cost him his 2017 presidential bid. Also, Fillon’s wife, Penelope, was found guilty of being an accomplice in the case.
He was further accused of making the millionaire owner of a literary magazine pay his wife €135,000 for “consulting work.”
François was sentenced to five years in prison, out of which three were suspended and a fine of €375,000. Also, François was banned from contesting for elected office for 10 years.
His wife was sentenced to three years in prison and fined €375,000.
Penelope Fillon was found guilty of owning a “fake” job at a French-language monthly magazine, Revue des Deux Mondes, managed her husband’s friend.
According to the court, Mrs. Fillon, 64, was paid “the maximum possible” and the sums were “out of proportion to her activities”.
The leading Judge, Nathalie Gavarino said: “Nothing could have justified the remuneration she received.”
The couple were further convicted of employing two of their five children between 2005 and 2007, paying them a sum of €117,000.
