François Fillon: Former French Prime Minister sentenced to five years in jail
The judgement concluded Fillon paid his wife and children, as well as Joulaud, hundreds of thousands of euros from the public payroll for little or no work.
Fillon was sentenced to five years in prison, three of them suspended, as well as a fine of 375,000 euros ($423,000) and a ten -year ban on running for elections.
His wife Penelope was sentence to a suspended prison sentence of three years and a fine of 375,000 euros.
The Fillons and their co-defendant were also ordered to reimburse more than one million euros ($1.13 million) to the French National Assembly.
Scandal emerges
Fillon was prime minister under President Nicolas Sarkozy between 2007 and 2012.
He rejected the claims at the time, saying his wife worked for 15 years as his deputy and handled several roles, including managing his schedule and representing him at cultural events. He also said his daughter and son were employed in similar positions for 15 months and six months respectively, which he said is not illegal, but was an “error of judgment.”
