Netflix’s The Masked Scammer follows a school of con artists who scammed elite French out of millions of euros.
The premise of the movie looks awfully similar to the real-life scam on French elites which took place between 2015 to 2017 by an Israeli-French conman Gilbert Chikli. However, the streaming platform or the crew of the movie have not confirmed if it’s actually based on Gilbert’s elaborated plan which managed to squeeze over €80 million or $83 million out of wealthy businessmen.
The Masked Scammer is called Le Masque in French, and the film will be released on December 1, 2022, only on Netflix. Although the film is originally in English, viewers can choose the English version of the audio and enjoy the film. The trailer of the movie is already available on Netflix, and it looks promising showing interviews of the conman and victims. However, the question still remains unanswered.
Is The Masked Scammer Based On Real Life Con Artist Gilbert Chikli?
Netflix’s The Masked Scammer is based on a real-life scam in France where scammers duped French elites of millions; however, it’s not confirmed if the movie is based on Gilbert Chikli or not.
The trailer available on Netflix mentions Gilbert Chikli several times and his interview is also shown in the trailer, furthermore, Netflix has categorized the movie as a true crime documentary meaning it could actually be based on the scams by the conman Chikli.
In real-life Gilbert wore a mask of then-French defense minister Jean-Yves Le Drian and asked wealthy business owners and CEOs for money for ransom payments for journalists captured by Islamists in the middle east according to BBC. Several fell for the trap but many did not believe the premise as the French government does not pay ransom money for hostesses officially.
The Netflix movie The Masked Scammer also follows a similar premise, in the short trailer now available on Netflix Gilbert is addressed as the king of scams and allegedly the man behind the crime. He is also heard saying he has a gift from God (to scam people) which he utilized in his crime.
While the official confirmation is yet to come, all the hands point toward Gilbert Chikli as the man behind the Netflix movie. However, who is the scammer who made over $83 million by scamming “Friends of France”?
Who Is French-Israeli Con Artist Gilbert Chikli?
Gilbert Chikli is a French-Israeli conman who made headlines back in 2017 after being caught scamming people out of millions of euros.
He is of Tunisian Jewish background and grew up in a working-class family in the Belleville neighborhood in Paris, France. He has spent many years living in different countries trying his luck to get people into his scam plans and make huge money.
While Chikli is best known for impersonating the French minister Jean-Yves Le Drian and scamming “Friends of France”, he had already been convicted and arrested for trying to scam other high-profile businessmen, ministers, and even entire governments.
Gilbert tried to scam businesses by pretending to become their executive and asking for money in 2015, he had beginner’s luck but was eventually caught. However, he lived in Israel and could not be extradited to France for his offense. He then tried to scam the Tunisian government by making a fake contract to purchase several Tiger Helicopters, but he was caught at the last moment.
Furthermore, he also tried to make money out of scamming African governments, several ministers from around the world, business leaders, religious leaders, and even INGOs. He did not find much success in his plans.
His plans of impersonating minister Le Drian worked magnificently. They were profitable for Gilbert but he was caught in Ukraine while trying to get his hands on the minister’s silicone mask. He was brought back to France and is spending his time in jail.
Gilbert Chikli Is Serving A 12-Year Sentence In 2022
Gilbert Chikli is behind bars serving a 12-year sentence as of 2022.
According to The Guardian, Chikli was found guilty of impersonating French minister Le Drian and scamming millions out of the rich and wealthy. He was sentenced to behind bars for 11 years and was fined €2 million or $2.07 million for his crimes. The sentence was handed down in 2017 and he will be out of prison by 2028.
However, this is not the first time Gilbert was ordered behind bars by a French court. While he was not present in the court at the time of the sentencing, he was awarded 7 years behind bars according to The Guardian. This sentence was handed out for similar kinds of scams by Gilbert in 2005 and 2006.
Although Gilbert is behind bars, BBC reports similar kinds of scams once again started earlier this year. It is not confirmed if Chikli is the one to blame for the new scams but the plot looks familiar. However, after three suspects were arrested in Israel, the scam calls have stopped, at least for now.