The Taroudant Court of First Instance has sentenced a contractor to three years in prison for defrauding victims of the Al Haouz earthquake. The court also mandated the contractor to pay 30 000 dirhams in compensation to each of the 34 victims involved. The case came to light following complaints from individuals affected by the earthquake in the Taroudant province. The victims reported that the contractor had collected 20,000 dirhams from each person under the guise of participating in a reconstruction program for areas devastated by the earthquake that struck Morocco on September 8, 2023. However, the contractor failed to deliver on the promised work, neglecting his contractual commitments before vanishing, which led the victims to seek justice, as reported by Al-Sabah newspaper. Testimonies from the victims revealed that the contractor not only reneged on his obligations but also disappeared after receiving the initial payments, leaving the affected families stranded without any progress in their reconstruction efforts. As the number of complaints grew, security services issued a national search warrant for the contractor. It was discovered that he had orchestrated fraudulent schemes targeting 34 families, amassing substantial sums of money. Following thorough investigations, members of the Royal Gendarmerie in tracked his movements, eventually locating him in a village near the Aoulouz community. He was apprehended at the beginning of January.
