Biathlon world champion Julia Simon was taken into custody by police in Albertville on Tuesday (October 24, 2023). It’s about allegations of fraud.
The 27-year-old, who is being investigated for credit card fraud, was released after a short time. His client is “neither charged nor referred to court”said Simon’s lawyer Christian Borel to the AFP news agency. However, the investigations would continue.
Used a colleague’s credit card?
Simon, overall World Cup winner last winter, was reported by teammate Justine Braisaz-Bouchet, among others. Simon is said to have misused their credit cards for purchases.
However, she firmly rejected the allegations, saying that she herself was allegedly a victim of fraudsters. Simon therefore filed a complaint against unknown persons for “identity theft”.
Simon denies allegations
“There are purchases made by credit card with my name on it, but I am also a victim of this situation. My name was used without my knowledge”said Simon in an interview with the newspaper Le Dauphine Libere already declared in August. “My client denies having ordered and received the material”lawyer Borel also explained: “If it wasn’t about high-performance athletes, the case would have been closed.”
Simon initially prepared for the coming season on his own in the summer. But she has been training with the French team again for two weeks. The Biathlon World Cup starts on November 25th in Östersund, Sweden. The highlight of the season is the World Cup in Nove Mesto (February 7th to 18th, 2024).