Two men were reported charged in France over an alleged scheme that cost Uber Eats about €2.4 million through fake customer accounts and abuse of its first-order refund policy, with the operation said to have run from January 2022 to June 2024. The case is known only from secondary press reports published in November and December 2024. No official French prosecutor statement, court record, or law-enforcement release was found, so the allegations below should be read as reported claims, not established findings.
What is being reported
Two outlets cover the case. Econostrum published a report on November 24, 2024, describing fake accounts, bots, and exploitation of the platform’s refund system, and saying that arrests followed in Saint-Nazaire and Nanterre. Indian Defence Review published a report on December 7, 2024, stating that two people had been charged over an alleged €2.4 million fraud against Uber Eats. Its account contains more detail, including the operating period, the number of accounts, and a Telegram channel. Both are secondary articles that do not cite an official source for those details.
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How the alleged scheme worked
According to the reporting, the operation relied on three elements:
- New customer accounts. The alleged fraud used freshly created accounts rather than long-standing customers.
- Automation. Bots were reportedly used to carry out the claims at scale.
- Repeated first-order refund claims. The accounts allegedly made repeated claims under Uber Eats’ first-order refund policy, which is the mechanism both outlets identify as the point of exploitation.
Econostrum reported that Uber Eats noticed suspicious refunds and filed a complaint. Neither outlet, as reported, describes the internal detection method in detail, so how the platform identified the pattern is not established.
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Key figures and how to read them
Every figure below comes from Indian Defence Review’s December 2024 report unless noted. None is attributed to a court, regulator, or police agency in the material reviewed.
| Figure | What it refers to | Qualification |
|---|---|---|
| €2.4 million | Reported loss to Uber Eats | Alleged amount in secondary reporting; not confirmed by an official source |
| 137,000 | Reported number of fraudulent accounts | Secondary-reporting figure, not an independently verified official statistic |
| January 2022 to June 2024 | Reported period of operation | Stated by Indian Defence Review only |
| About €200,000 in cryptocurrency | Value reportedly tied to one suspect | An allegation about one suspect, not a verified asset seizure |
| €300 to €500 | Price range of guides reportedly sold via Telegram | Reported price range; no purchase records were cited |
The “Fast Eats” Telegram channel
Indian Defence Review says the scheme was promoted through a Telegram channel called “Fast Eats.” According to that report, the channel advertised discounted orders and sold instructional guides on carrying out the scheme. The article does not say how many people subscribed or purchased guides, and the channel’s current availability is not established.
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Arrests and investigation status
Econostrum described arrests in Saint-Nazaire and Nanterre and characterized the investigation as ongoing when it was published in November 2024. That is a description of the case as of that date. The available reporting does not show whether the investigation has since concluded, whether a trial has been scheduled, or what outcome, if any, has followed. As of October 2026, no later status update was found, so readers should not assume the 2024 position still holds.
Comparing the two reports
| Feature | Econostrum (November 24, 2024) | Indian Defence Review (December 7, 2024) |
|---|---|---|
| Fake accounts and bots | Described | Described |
| Refund-policy exploitation | Described | Described as first-order refund claims |
| Arrest locations | Saint-Nazaire and Nanterre | Not stated |
| Reported loss of €2.4 million | Not stated | Stated |
| Operating period and account count | Not stated | January 2022 to June 2024; 137,000 accounts |
| Telegram channel | Not stated | “Fast Eats” |
| Investigation status | Described as ongoing at publication | Described as charges filed |
| Official source cited | No | No |
The two reports overlap on the core mechanics but differ on detail. Only one includes the loss figure and account count, and only the other includes the arrest locations. Neither should be treated as a more authoritative version of the other.
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Why “indicted” is the wrong frame to use
The headline phrasing of “indicted” is a term from United States procedure. The reports reviewed use the language of charges, and French criminal procedure has its own formal steps with different names. The reports do not state which step the two men reached, so a reader cannot tell from them whether the matter has gone to trial, is at a pre-trial stage, or has a different status. Describing the men as “charged” matches the wording of the secondary reports and avoids implying a verdict or a particular legal stage.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What is and is not established
- Established in the reporting: two people were reported charged in connection with an alleged refund-abuse scheme targeting Uber Eats, and arrests were reported in Saint-Nazaire and Nanterre.
- Reported but not confirmed by an official source: the €2.4 million loss, the 137,000 accounts, the January 2022 to June 2024 period, the cryptocurrency value, the Telegram channel, and the guide prices.
- Not established: any court finding, conviction, sentence, or the current procedural status of the case.
Anyone relying on these details for a decision should check for later reporting from French prosecutors or courts, and should treat the figures as the outlets’ claims rather than official totals.
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Any lesson beyond the case itself is limited. For readers managing their own spending, the reports describe a platform-side loss from abused promotional rules, not a consumer-facing fraud, and they do not report any effect on ordinary customers’ accounts or payments.
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