For clients of the construction company of ex-Bagnolais imam Mahjoub Mahjoubi, “we are collateral damage from his expulsion”

Several construction sites were stopped following the expulsion of Imam Mahjoubi, who holds 49% of the shares in Provence Villas. D.R.

Grouped together as a collective, the clients of the company Provence Villas, based in Bagnols-sur-Cèze and of which Mahjoub Mahjoubi holds 49% of the shares, lost money. They launched a fundraiser.

Since the expulsion of imam Mahjoub Mahjoubi to Tunisia, on February 22, after being accused of polemical preaching, in the At-Tawba mosque from Bagnols-sur-Cèze, around fifteen clients of the individual house construction company Provence Villas – based in Bagnols-sur-Cèze and owned 51% by the wife of the imam and 49% by himself –, came together as a collective to try to get their money back.

All of them in fact paid advances for work that was not carried out. " Between us, we lost more than 250,000 euros" deplores a Gard resident (he prefers to remain anonymous), who contacted Provence Villas to have his house built in a village in the Rhone Gard. "Including the craftsmen and suppliers who were harmed, that's almost half a million euros !" he estimates.

Filing complaints

"Since the expulsion of Mahjoub Mahjoubi, who managed the construction sites, that of my house has been at a standstill !" worries this Gardois. "The work began in April 2023. They moved forward quietly. I paid the bills in advance, the work was done. In February, I paid another 20,000 euros; for electricity, heating, sheathing, insulation… – but nothing was done. At the end of April, he decided to call on a bailiff and wanted "to file a complaint for fraud and breach of trust". On several occasions, he contacted Mahjoub Mahjoubi, "he said that he was the victim. When I ask him where my money is, he says it's missing."

Keven Peuvrel, hospital nurse in Vaucluse, is in the same situation. "I am the one who lost the most, almost 60 000 euros" underlines this young father who had he also chose Provence Villas to become an owner. "I paid 102,000 euros but I only have three quarters of the house. We were supposed to move in June. On several occasions, he met Mahjoub Mahjoubi on the construction site started in June 2023, but since mid-April, he has had no responses to his messages. "I paid in advance because he inspired confidence…" he confides.

"I don't think I'll see my money again"

Artisans also have issues with Provence Villas. "He owes me 18 000 euros", a sum accumulated over the months, already before the’ expulsion of the Bagnolais imam, explains the ML Elec electrician. "The management of the company was poorly done, the expulsion complicates things. Since then, his accountant has stopped. I’ I hired a lawyer for a formal notice, I launched legal proceedings" affirms the Gardois who has no illusions, "I don't think I will see my money again, especially if Provence Villas files for bankruptcy".

To find solutions, Keven Peuvrel tries to alert the political world. "I am writing letters to the President of the Republic, to the Prime Minister…. I had sent letters to the deputies of Gard and Vaucluse…". At the same time, he made a report of abandonment of construction site and "filed complaint against the company Provence Villas and against Mahjoub Mahjoubi and his wife.

The nurse does not hide the fact that he is today in financial difficulty between his rent to pay and the loan on his unfinished house to repay. "I feel caught by the throat.

Now, the group of clients is looking for a lawyer who " would like to take us together, it’s complicated. We think that there is no solution, we only have our eyes to cry. We are collateral damage of the expulsion of Mahjoub Mahjoubi. The State must assume responsibility" he believes.

Without any illusions about the possibility of recovering the money advanced, these customers launched a leetchi kitty. "It will help us" they hope.

“The company salesperson did everything to help us”

Customers of Provence Villas were able to count on the sales team of the company based in Bagnols-sur-Cèze. "Mr Hatton does everything to help us" explain several of them. "He’is a very professional and correct person".

A salesperson who has suffered insults by telephone or on social networks since Tuesday May 14 after being quoted in a popular radio show. "I was tricked on the phone !" underlines the Bagnolais who recalls that "the company had management difficulties before the expulsion of Mahjoub Mahjoubi. He was the only one to manage the construction sites. His expulsion accelerated everything".

"We looked for solutions for injured customers to get their money back but there are none&amp ;quot; he regrets while recalling that he did not "never had visibility on the company's accounts". Now he is waiting for Provence Villas to file for bankruptcy to finally turn the page on this affair from which he is suffering him too the consequences.

A prize pool on leetchi to compensate for customer losses

The company customers areé Provence Villas, united as a collective, launched a prize pool on leetchi.com. Entitled "Victims of the ex-imam of Bagnols-sur-Cèze M. Mahjoubi", it aims to: collect 271,000 euros, the amount they lost.

The signatories of the text accompanying the prize pool list the sums that they will probably never see again, between 6,000 euros and 60,000 euros each, the majority of them having lost more than 20,000 euros in this affair.

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