Broker SFAM: Chairman and founder Sadri Fegaier receives prison sentence and heavy fine

On 17 December 2024, the Paris Criminal Court handed down a ruling sentencing Sadri Fegaier, Chairman and founder of the SFAM brokerage group (now known as Indexia), to two years in prison, with 16 months to be served immediately, and a 300 000 EUR (314 994 USD) fine.

The 45-year-old businessman was found guilty of deceptive commercial practices between 2014 and 2023.

The 16-month prison sentence is to be served without the possibility of suspension, while the remaining eight months are suspended on probation for two years, during which time the head of Indexia will have to reimburse his victims as well as the French Treasury.

S. Fegaier is also prohibited from running or managing a business for five years. Several of his properties have been seized by the judicial authorities.

The six companies within the brokerage group - SARL SFK Group, SFAM Celside Insurance, Foriou, Cyrana, Hubside and Serena - were fined between 150 000 EUR and 1.5 million EUR (157 497 USD and 1.6 million USD).

S. Fegaier and his companies are accused of having misled customers into underwriting affinity insurance policies when purchasing mobile phones without providing proper information. Between 2014 and 2022, the culprits also devised complex procedures to deter requests for cancellation of insurance contracts or refunds.

The first complaints were lodged in 2017 by thousands of customers, including FNAC, a case that resulted in a 10 million EUR (10.5 million USD) fine in 2019.

In April 2024, SFAM went into receivership.

The Indexia group is a broker specializing in affinity insurance for mobile phones.