Horter family receives suspended sentences for fraud at French Olympic swimming club Mulhouse

The Horter family were reportedly given suspended sentences on Monday for a financial fraud involving their Mulhouse Olympic Swimming Club (MON), so they are likely to avoid prison by serving a suspended sentence.

Lionel Horterthe former coach of the two-time Olympic champion Yannick Agnelwas sentenced to a one-year suspended sentence and a two-year ban from running the company. Lionel was found guilty of collecting $79,000 in unjustified fees and confiscating a Land Rover belonging to the club. Agnel was charged in 2021 with sexually abusing Lionel’s daughter in 2016, when she was just 13 and he was 24. An investigation found that several members of MON management knew about Agnel’s intimate relationship with the victim, although a trial in his case is still ongoing.

MON President Franck Horter was sentenced to eight months probation for paying fake bills worth over $265,000. His mother, Marie-Octavie Horterwent unpunished for his breach of trust in connection with expense reports valued at approximately $600.

Marjorie HauswirthLionel Horter’s wife, received a 10-month suspended sentence and a two-year ban from running a company after a court in eastern France found that she had funneled more than $280,000 to consulting firms run by her husband and brother-in-law.

MON has also been charged with fraud dating back to 2014 to 2016. Following a financial audit last year, the Horter family should have given up control of the MON pools on January 31, 2022.

Famous swimmers who have trained at MON in the past include Roxana Maracineanuthe 1998 world champion and 2000 Olympic silver medalist in the women’s 200-meter backstroke, who is currently Minister of Sport in the French government. Three-time Olympic medalist Laure Manaudou and four-time Olympic medalist Amaury Leveaux are also among the club’s notable alumni.