Count Henri d’Udekem d’Acoz, an uncle of Queen Mathilde of the Belgians, has been convicted of running a scam by a court in Kortrijk in Belgium. He has been convicted to six months probation and a fine of 1375 euros.
“They worked in tandem to extort money from my client”, said Geert Sustronck, the victim’s attorney. “They paid through the nose, but nothing was being done.”
The victim of the scam asked for help from the Count in the allotment of a piece of farmland, which was to be made into a building lot. This never happened, despite a huge amount being paid. He also asked for help with an inheritance matter. The victim began to fear he was being scammed he began recording conversations for evidence. He was scammed for a total of 156.000 euros. The Count has already been ordered to repay 45.000 euros, the other 117.000 euros is yet to be ruled on.Two others were involved in the scam as well, one was given a sentence of a year in prison, of which half is probation and the other was given eight months probation. The Count has already announced he will appeal the conviction.
The Count did not attend court as his health did not permit it. He claims to have fallen victim of the scam also and he believes the suit was filed because he is wealthy enough to repay any damages.
Count Henri d’Udekem d’Acoz is 82 years old and is the eldest of the three sons of Charles Joseph Marie Ghislain baron d’Udekem d’Acoz and his second wife Suzanne van Outryve d’Ydewalle. The youngest brother is Patrick d’Udekem d’Acoz (1936 – 2008), who was the father of Mathilde d’Udekem d’Acoz and four other children. Mathilde married the Duke of Brabant, King Philippe of the Belgians, in 1999 and the pair has four children.
