/ 
Court ruling confirms long-standing abuses
On July 7, 2025, the Béziers Criminal Court ruled on a case of fraud linked to the sale of a sailboat. The director of Cap Océan was found guilty and sentenced to a fine of 1,500 euros. He will also have to pay 2,000 euros in damages and legal costs to the victim. His company, now in receivership, did not survive the multiplication of complaints and suspicions of serial fraud.
A modus operandi based on withholding funds
According to the investigation, several sales were concluded without the sellers receiving the proceeds of the transaction. The funds received by the broker remained in his accounts, without being transferred to the boat's original owner. This recurring pattern was based on a simple but poorly controlled mechanism: a couple had entrusted the sale of their yacht to Cap Océan in complete confidence, without the proceeds of the transaction being passed on to them, despite the completion of the sale.
A worrying precedent for yachting professionals
The conviction of Cap Océan confirms a trend that has been denounced for several years in the yachting brokerage sector: the opacity of financial flows, the absence of external control over escrow, and the possibility for unscrupulous intermediaries to exploit the trust of private individuals. The Cap Océan case is not an isolated one; the company operated under different commercial identities, complicating legal follow-up and encouraging repeat offences.
Increased vigilance for buyers and sellers
This case underlines the need for individuals and building sites alike to verify the legal identity and guarantees offered by their intermediaries. The liquidation of Cap Océan, coupled with this criminal conviction, could accelerate the evolution of the regulatory framework. For yachting professionals, the credibility of the second-hand market is at stake, as is the confidence essential to the resale dynamic.
