Thousands scammed by 'magic cheese' con

Magic cheese is not magic

A French woman scammed thousands of people in Chile by selling them kits for producing 'magic cheese', according to French officials.

Gilberte Van Erpe told buyers that the fermented end-product of her kits could be sold for large amounts of money to French cosmetics companies, in what French authorities suggest was actually a huge pyramid scheme.

Van Erpe was arrested in France last year, accused of fraud and money laundering.

We call it the “case of the magic cheese”,' said Isabelle Montagne, a spokeswoman for the public prosecutor's office.

Van Erpe claimed that the 'magic cheese' was in high demand in France for use in fancy moisturisers and shampoos, and sold the kits – which had an actual value of about £2.80 – for €300 (£280).

Of course, the magic cheese was never sold to cosmetics companies, and investors lost their money.

An examining magistrate, Sylvie Gagnard, is to fly from France to Chile to register the lawsuits of Van Erpe's alleged victims.

Media have reported that she ran a similar scheme in Peru in 2003 to 2004 before moving on to operate in Chile from 2004 to 2006. It is thought that as many as 5,000 Peruvians and 4,500 Chileans have filed lawsuits against Van Erpe, who may have netted up to €30million (£28million) from the scam.