French FM’s son in US dud cheques drama

The son of France's foreign minister reportedly faces criminal charges in the US for passing bad cheques to casinos in Las Vegas.

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Paris - The son of France's foreign minister faces criminal charges in the United States over allegations that he passed bad cheques to casinos in Las Vegas, according to a report in French publication Le Point.

Thomas Fabius, son of French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, faces an arrest warrant in the US, Le Point reported. Reuters located a criminal complaint against a Thomas Emmanuel Fabius in Nevada state court, which alleges he wrote several cheques to three casinos in May 2012 but did not have sufficient funds to cover them.

Reuters could not immediately verify that it is the same individual as the minister's son, whose French attorney could not immediately be reached for comment.

Audrie Locke, a spokeswoman for the Clark County District Attorney's office in Las Vegas, said there is still an active arrest warrant over the charges.

According to the court filings from April 2013, Thomas Fabius passed cheques from three different bank accounts, including one at France's Societe Generale, over the course of two days, to obtain cash or gaming chips from three different casinos totalling about $3.5 million.

He faces three criminal counts for passing a check with intent to defraud, and three counts of theft.

The case in Justice Court, Las Vegas Township is the State of Nevada vs. Thomas Emmanuel Fabius, case no. 13F04897X.

Reuters