IT engineer sentenced to 10 years in prison for fraud and falsification of documents

An IT engineer has been sentenced to 10 years in prison by the Dar El Beïda criminal court for falsification, use of forged official documents, usurpation of regulated functions, and fraud. The investigation, reported by "Ennahar" media, revealed that the accused defrauded dozens of victims, five of whom were present at the hearing. The individual was dismissed from his position as director of general resources within a high sovereign institution in 2001 and subsequently used this past role to orchestrate a series of scams, leading to convictions in absentia in similar cases. The public prosecutor's office at the Bir Mourad Raïs court had issued a public appeal to locate and arrest him, as he targeted both public officials and private merchants. The accused offered fake contracts worth billions of centimes, using falsified documents, including sales contracts and counterfeit official stamps. He defrauded his former university professor from Bab Ezzouar, originally from Jijel, of 1.8 billion centimes through two fictitious transactions, including a fake land deed and a supposed purchase of 15 vehicles auctioned by the Presidency of the Republic. He used the same method with other victims, including an IT equipment merchant and a spare parts dealer, convincing the latter to invest 3.5 billion centimes in a supposed acquisition of iPhones for Presidency staff, based on forged purchase orders. Investigations began on August 4, 2025, after reports of an individual claiming influen