The politician Jean Messiha, of the Reconquête! party, is accused of having pocketed over €40.000 from a crowdfunding campaign launched after the deaths of two prison guards during Mohamed Amra's escape. Messiha denies any wrongdoing and blames GoFundMe, which maintains that the funds were transferred to the bank account designated when the campaign was created.
A fundraising campaign launched after the Incarville tragedy
Two years after the deadly attack on the prison van at the Incarville tollbooth, the case has taken a new legal turn. On May 14, 2024, Fabrice Moello, 52, and Arnaud Garcia, 34, two prison officers, were killed by an armed commando during Mohamed Amra's escape. Three other officers were wounded in the attack, which deeply shocked the nation.
In the hours that followed, Jean Messiha launched an online fundraiser on GoFundMe to support the victims' families. On the fundraising page, he assured that donations would be "All proceeds will be given to the families of the victims"The fundraising total had reached over 44.000 euros collected from more than 2.000 donors.
The widows claim to have received nothing.
According to information revealed by Le ParisienSandrine Le Hay Moello, widow of Fabrice Moello, has filed a complaint for breach of trust against Jean Messiha. She accuses him of having pocketed approximately 42.000 euros from this fund intended for bereaved families.
This complaint was filed on May 21 in Paris through his lawyer, Matthieu Chirez. Arnaud Garcia's widow, Mary Garcia, has also decided to join the proceedings and has filed her own complaint for breach of trust, according to her lawyer, Pauline Ragot.
GoFundMe is questioning the fundraising settings
For its part, GoFundMe claims to be reviewing the case "in depth"The platform indicates that Jean Messiha already had a verified bank account, registered after previous fundraising campaigns, and that he had designated himself as the beneficiary of the payments when creating this campaign. According to GoFundMe, this setting resulted in the transfer of all the funds to his bank account.
The platform reportedly identified several validated transfers to Jean Messiha's bank accounts between May 2024 and June 2025, totaling over €40.000. The Paris prosecutor's office has opened a preliminary investigation to verify the facts.
Jean Messiha denounces a "error" and promises to repay
Jean Messiha denies the accusations. On social media, he claims that GoFundMe committed a "serious mistake" linked to internal failures. He maintains that he never asked to be a beneficiary of this fund and assures that the sums received will be given to the families.
The politician also claims he didn't immediately realize the origin of the transfers because the bank descriptions were unclear. He explains that he had opened another fundraising account a few months earlier to finance his expenses related to what he calls his "Judicial jihad"and said that he had not been able to identify the beneficiaries of the collection intended for the families of the agents, despite contacts with prison unions.
His lawyer, Gérald Pandelon, announced that a complaint would be filed against GoFundMe. Jean Messiha's defense team also denounced the media portrayal, which they argued made him appear guilty before any legal decision, and reiterated the presumption of innocence.
