logo
Eight Found Guilty in Paris Over 2016 Robbery of Kim Kardashian

Eight Found Guilty in Paris Over 2016 Robbery of Kim Kardashian

New York Times23-05-2025

Eight people were found guilty by a court in Paris on Friday in connection with a brazen robbery against Kim Kardashian nearly a decade ago.
Ms. Kardashian, 44, a reality TV star and entrepreneur, was gagged, bound with zip ties and robbed at gunpoint of jewelry worth millions of dollars at a luxury residence she had rented during Paris Fashion Week in October 2016.
Seven men and one woman were found guilty on charges ranging from direct involvement in the robbery to lesser complicity in it. The court sentenced them to three to eight years in prison, with the sentences mostly or entirely suspended.
'The sentences are fairly lenient,' David De Pas, the presiding judge, acknowledged as he read out the ruling, citing the advanced age and health issues of many of the defendants as one of the main reasons.
Even so, he added: 'You did harm.'
The court found a ninth defendant guilty of illegally acquiring and possessing firearms but cleared him of involvement in the robbery. It acquitted a 10th defendant entirely on the grounds that there was not enough evidence against him for a conviction.
Reporters had nicknamed the main suspects in the case the 'grandpa robbers' — a group of grizzled criminals, most of whom are now in their 60s and 70s, who were accused of staging one of the most daring celebrity heists in France's recent history.
Ms. Kardashian had testified earlier this month that she had feared for her life during the robbery and that it had pushed her to sharply upgrade her private security and to scale back the amount of personal, real-time information that she posted online.
Most of her stolen jewelry, including a $4 million diamond engagement ring from her then-husband, was not recovered. At the time, it was estimated to be worth at least 8 million euros, or about $9 million. The final estimate is unclear, but Ms. Kardashian told the court the insurance payout she received was about $6 million.
Of the 10 defendants — eight men, ages 35 to 72, and one woman, age 79 — only two had acknowledged their involvement.
One was Aomar Aït Khedache, 69, whose DNA was found at the scene but who denied accusations that he masterminded the robbery by recruiting accomplices, giving orders and arranging to sell the stolen diamonds in Belgium. The other was Yunice Abbas, 72, who acted as a lookout and later wrote a book about the heist.
'I forgive you for what had taken place,' Ms. Kardashian tearfully told Mr. Khedache in court earlier this month, after he apologized to her. 'But it doesn't change the emotion, and the feelings, and the trauma, and the ways that my life is forever changed.'
Ms. Kardashian, who completed a legal apprenticeship this week that makes her eligible to take the California bar exam, has campaigned for prison reform.
Lawyers for the oldest defendants had urged the court to be lenient in its sentencing, arguing that there was no risk of them committing further crimes and that forcing the men to spend the rest of their lives behind bars was unnecessarily cruel given their ailments.
Stenographers transcribed the court proceedings on a screen for Mr. Khedache, who has a severe hearing impairment and who was often mobbed by photographers and camera crews as he hobbled through the courthouse's marble hallways with a cane.
Mr. Abbas's hands shook from Parkinson's disease when he spoke in court. Another defendant, Didier Dubreucq, 69, was absent from court several times to undergo chemotherapy for cancer. One person who was charged in the case had died, and another was too ill to be tried.
The prosecution argued that the defendants were not harmless retirees but career criminals who had carefully prepared their heist and who had shown no empathy for Ms. Kardashian or for the residence's night watchman, who was forced to lead the robbers to her apartment.
'Today, they are being presented as small-time crooks,' Anne-Dominique Merville, the prosecutor in the case, told the court this week. But they were 'seasoned robbers' with extensive criminal records, she said, as she told the three judges and six-person jury not to trust the defendants' 'reassuring wrinkles.'

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Kim Kardashian says immigrants in LA suffering 'fear and injustice' thanks to Trump immigration plan
Kim Kardashian says immigrants in LA suffering 'fear and injustice' thanks to Trump immigration plan

Fox News

timean hour ago

  • Fox News

Kim Kardashian says immigrants in LA suffering 'fear and injustice' thanks to Trump immigration plan

Despite working with President Donald Trump on issues in the past, Kim Kardashian indicated on Friday she does not support his administration's immigration policy. In a recent Instagram post, the reality TV star condemned operations conducted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), calling them "inhumane." "When we're told that ICE exists to keep our country safe and remove violent criminals — great. But when we witness innocent, hardworking people being ripped from their families in inhumane ways, we have to speak up. We have to do what's right," she stated in an Instagram story Friday. The Los Angeles native shared the post as her hometown continues to be shaken by violent anti-ICE riots that started last week in response to the federal law enforcement agency detaining illegal immigrants. DHS said ICE raids in L.A. over the weekend resulted in "hundreds of illegal aliens [being] arrested by ICE officers and agents," including "many with a criminal history and criminal convictions." Protests and clashes outside multiple locations in downtown L.A. have grown so chaotic that Trump ordered National Guard troops into the city, followed by several hundred U.S. Marines, to restore order. Some California officials, including Gov. Gavin Newsom, have accused the administration of exacerbating the situation. Despite the attacks on cops and other law enforcement officials by rioters, Kardashian argued in her post that immigrants are dealing with "fear and injustice" at the hands of the federal government. She added, "Growing up in LA, I've seen how deeply immigrants are woven into the fabric of this city. They are our neighbors, friends, classmates, coworkers, and family. No matter where you fall politically, it's clear that our communities thrive because of the contributions of immigrants. We can't turn a blind eye when fear and injustice keep people from living their lives freely and safely." "There HAS to be a BETTER way," Kardashian declared, concluding her post. The celebrity followed that post by sharing a video of pop star Doechii bashing Trump and ICE while accepting the of best female hip hop artist award at the BET Awards on Monday night. During her acceptance speech, the musician stated, "There are ruthless attacks that are creating fear and chaos in our communities in the name of law and order," she said. "Trump is using military forces to stop a protest, and I want y'all to consider what kind of government it appears to be when every time we exercise our democratic right to protest, the military is deployed against us." Despite Kardashian's harsh stance on Trump's immigration agenda, she has had a constructive relationship with him in the past. In 2019, she appeared at the White House alongside Trump to promote his criminal justice reform policies, calling them "magic." By that point, Kardashian had been at the White House several times to discuss criminal justice reform issues and successfully lobbied President Trump to pardon Alice Marie Johnson, who was serving life without parole for drug offenses. The White House did not immediately reply to Fox News Digital's request for comment.

Poland's Presidential Election Campaign Faced Unprecedented Russian Interference, Officials Say
Poland's Presidential Election Campaign Faced Unprecedented Russian Interference, Officials Say

Forbes

time2 hours ago

  • Forbes

Poland's Presidential Election Campaign Faced Unprecedented Russian Interference, Officials Say

A man casts his ballot during the first round of the presidential elections on May 18, 2025 in ... More Warsaw, Poland. (Photo by) Poland faced a large-scale campaign of foreign interference during its recent presidential election, with coordinated efforts by Russia and Belarus to spread disinformation, undermine public trust, and influence political outcomes, according to government officials and cybersecurity experts. In May, Digital Affairs Minister Krzysztof Gawkowski said Poland was subjected to 'unprecedented' attempts by Russia to interfere in the election. These included disinformation campaigns and hybrid attacks on critical infrastructure intended to 'paralyze the normal functioning of the state.' He also noted that Russian military intelligence activity in Poland had doubled compared to the previous year. Between January and mid-May, Poland's Research and Academic Computer Network (NASK) identified over 10,000 social media accounts disseminating disinformation aimed at swaying the election. Around 400 accounts were found to be linked to the Social Design Agency, a Kremlin-funded, EU-sanctioned Russian organization involved in disinformation campaigns. The accounts promoted content echoing 'the narrative of the Russian Federation's psychological and informational apparatus,' NASK said in a statement. Some of the disinformation materials targeted a specific presidential candidate, although NASK declined to disclose which one. Identical messaging and visuals were also found on Telegram channels previously identified as participating in Russian disinformation campaigns. Gawkowski also pointed to unauthorized Facebook ad campaigns valued at 'hundreds of thousands of zlotys' that targeted presidential candidates but were not registered with any official election committee. A recent report by the Atlantic Council's Digital Forensic Research Lab (DFRLab) and Alliance4Europe detailed how Radio Belarus, the Polish-language branch of Belarus's state-run Belteleradio, ran a digital influence campaign to discredit the Polish election. Using platforms such as TikTok, YouTube, X, and Facebook, the broadcaster promoted messages questioning the legitimacy of the vote, endorsing some candidates while attacking others. According to the report, Radio Belarus used manipulative techniques to portray establishment candidates as aligned with foreign interests, criticize Poland's support for Ukraine, and boost lesser-known anti-establishment figures. By early May, the outlet had published more than 7,790 posts and videos, generating more than 16 million views and at least 542,000 engagements. Martyna Hoffman, a co-author of the report, says that while TikTok proactively used geofencing to block access to Radio Belarus's harmful content in Poland, YouTube failed to take meaningful action, issuing only standard rejections to user reports. Belarus, widely regarded as a Russian satellite state, has consistently supported the Kremlin's disinformation campaigns. The country allowed its territory to be used during Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and frequently amplifies pro-Russian messaging. In its Country Risk Election Assessment, Alliance4Europe warned that Russia and Belarus have been exploiting domestic political divisions in Poland, particularly around judicial reforms, migration and civil rights, to undermine public trust in democratic institutions. The group identified five major disinformation narratives pursued by Russia, including anti-Ukraine, anti-migrant, and anti-EU/NATO messaging. The assessment also documented several coordinated operations in the lead-up to the election. One cyberattack targeted the Civic Platform party's computer systems and was linked to Russian sources. Another involved the Polish branch of the Pravda network, which republishes content from sanctioned Russian media. Russian intelligence also attempted to recruit Polish citizens via the dark web, offering payments in exchange for spreading pro-Russian propaganda. One campaign, dubbed Operation Overload, involved impersonating news outlets to cast doubt on the legitimacy of the election. Another, known as the Doppelganger campaign, distorted Polish news stories and mimicked legitimate sources on platforms such as X and Facebook, using fake accounts to distribute misleading content. As part of a broader strategy to counter Russian disinformation and hybrid threats in Europe, the European Union banned 18 media outlets accused of deliberately spreading Kremlin-backed narratives about the war in Ukraine. In May, the bloc unveiled a new sanctions package targeting individuals and entities linked to the Kremlin's hybrid warfare efforts, including those spreading Russian disinformation on social media. Aleksandra Wójtowicz, a new technologies and digitalization analyst at the Polish Institute of International Affairs, says social media platforms made noticeably less effort to combat disinformation during this election compared to Poland's 2023 parliamentary vote. 'TikTok took a more ambitious approach, but overall, fact-checking labels and links to reliable sources were largely missing,' she adds. Poland has responded to the growing Russian threat by bolstering its cybersecurity infrastructure, including the launch of a one billion zloty (approximately $260 million) Artificial Intelligence Fund. The initiative, backed by Poland's defense and digital affairs ministries, is designed to boost cyber defenses and develop dual-use technologies to counter hybrid threats. However, a recent report by a commission investigating Russian and Belarusian influence found that Poland's counter-disinformation efforts in recent years have been "insufficient, ad hoc, inconsistent, and often superficial." In 2024 alone, Poland recorded more than 600,000 cyber incidents attributed to Russian actors, a 60% year-over-year increase. 'There is no other country within the European Union facing similar threats,' Gawkowski said.

Man convicted of fraud for posing as flight attendant to fly for free
Man convicted of fraud for posing as flight attendant to fly for free

CNN

time3 hours ago

  • CNN

Man convicted of fraud for posing as flight attendant to fly for free

(CNN) – A man accused of falsely posing as a flight attendant to reap dozens of free flights has been convicted of wire fraud and fraudulently entering the secure area of an airport. Tiron Alexander, 35, was found guilty by a federal jury after taking 34 free flights that he obtained by pretending to be a flight attendant or a pilot, the U.S. District Attorney in Southern Florida said in a news release Tuesday. He was also convicted of entering the secure area at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport under false pretenses, authorities said. The man was employed by an unidentified airline based in Dallas beginning in 2015, court documents said, but not as a pilot or a flight attendant. The scheme to obtain free tickets, for a Florida-based airline, began in 2018 and continued until 2024, according to court documents. Alexander was indicted on these charges in Florida. He was arrested in California in February. The tickets Alexander secured are reserved for flight attendants and pilots. Free flights are among the top perks of working as a pilot or flight attendant. The benefit is based on seniority and tenure. Using the airlines' online ticketing systems, Alexander claimed to have worked intermittently for seven different carriers, according to the prosecutors' news release. He was convicted of four counts of wire fraud and one count of falsely entering the airport's secure area. Alexander was represented by attorneys in the public defender's office in Miami. CNN has reached out to them for comment. Authorities allege Alexander had booked more than 100 flights by falsely posing as a flight attendant. Alexander will be sentenced in August. He faces up to 20 years in prison for the wire fraud counts and up to 10 years for entering the airport's secure area, according to the indictment.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store