She was a millionaire, she has nothing left: the surprising story of this extremely wealthy heiress who became a waitress

She was the head of a fortune, she is now a waitress (photo illustration). drazenphoto – envato elements

A young woman overwhelmed by her fortune, a "surrogate mother" and his two daughters suspected of having benefited from it, 5 million euros stolen: justice looked into Thursday June 27, 2024 in Colmar on the case strange disappearance of the Schlumpf heritage.

Once close, the three defendants and their alleged victim are expected at the criminal court at 8:45 a.m.

Under judicial supervision, Josiane S., 68, is suspected of abuse of weakness. Her daughters, Mathilde H., 33, and Julia H., 40, must answer for receiving stolen goods. Presumed innocent, they deny the facts. Facing them is Cléophée Herrmann, 34, sole heiress to the Schlumpf fortune, a name that has caused much ink to flow in Alsace in recent decades.

Her maternal grandfather, the Franco-Swiss Fritz Schlumpf, who died in 1992, had built a textile empire with his brother Hans that collapsed in 1976, to the great dismay of the workers who besieged their bosses' villa near Mulhouse.

Under the protection of the authorities, the brothers fled to the neighboring city of Basel, Switzerland.

“History crazy”

A great car collector, Fritz had amassed several hundred collectible models, discovered by workers in 1977 in a factory in Mulhouse. Tried for misuse of corporate assets and tax evasion, Hans and Fritz saw the collection confiscated by the courts. It is now on display at the National Automobile Museum – Schlumpf Collection in Mulhouse.

The family saga experienced other episodes, such as auctions during which the family's last belongings were dispersed.

Thursday June 27, 2024, a new act is being played out with the file opened at the end of 2017 by a complaint from Cléophée against Josiane S.

Luxurious vacation

Their links date back to the end of the 1990s, when the future heiress was still only a child attending a posh establishment in Colmar, where she became friends with another student, Mathilde H., the most young daughter of Josiane.

The two families hang out, go on a luxurious vacation together.

In 2001, upon the death of Cléophée's mother, the links strengthened with Josiane. Faced with an unloving father – died in 2021 – the teenager also gets closer to her grandmother Arlette, Fritz's widow.

Father, daughter and grandmother live in a villa near Colmar. Custodian of the Schlumpf fortune, Arlette distributes the money, according to everyone's wishes. Cléophée's father does not work.

In 2008, Arlette, who designated her granddaughter as her only heir, died. Cléophée finds herself at the head of a fortune of more than 11.5 million euros, which she is incapable of managing.

Expensive consultations with a clairvoyant

Josiane gets closer to her, to the point of presenting herself as her "surrogate mother", according to the regional daily Les Dernieres Nouvelles d’Alsace (DNA), which revealed the affair.

And to abuse the fragile heiress? According to the investigation, Josiane, who was not working and going through a stormy divorce, asked him to take charge of ;rsquo;significant expenses, such as expensive consultations with a clairvoyant supposed to put Cléophée in contact with her deceased mother. Up to 50,000 euros per session…hellip;

Or this interest-free loan of several hundred thousand euros intended for the purchase of an apartment for Josiane and her daughters. Or this taxi, which has become, according to the DNA, "almost personal driver" of Josiane and who comes to Cléophée's house to collect shoeboxes filled with & rsquo;money – up to 50,000 euros, according to the complainant.

In total, no less than 5 million euros were swallowed up between May 2008 and October 2017. Psychological expertise shows that Cléophée, bruised by bereavement, suffered from anorexia nervosa and depression.

"Planet Mars"

An obvious "psychological fragility" which made her an easy person " to handle",points to his lawyer, Vadim Hager.

The possible knowledge by Josiane's daughters of the origin of the money and Cléophée's vulnerability will be one of the issues at stake in the hearing. Their two lawyers, Hervé Bégeot and Arnaud Dupuy, recall that the prosecution had requested a dismissal of the case in their favor.

"My client fell from the planet Mars" when she was placed in police custody, explains Me Bégeot , advice from Mathilde H.

"She has nothing left"

"A crazy story", adds Arnaud Dupuy, lawyer for Julia H., who is also < em>"discovered the’story" in police custody. Since then, "she hasn’no more sleep at night".

Josiane S.’s lawyer, Patrick Uzan, did not follow up. The sixty-year-old "denies any criminal responsibility" and regrets "being the only one, with his daughters, having to explain the disappearance of the Schlumpf fortune", he told the DNA.

Mother of a young child, Cléophée is now "waitress" in Colmar and earns "1 300 euros and dust", sighs Mr. Hager. "She’has nothing left".