Church of Scientology convicted of fraud in Paris

A PARIS court yesterday convicted the Church of Scientology of fraud and fined it more than half a million euro — but stopped short of banning the group as requested by prosecutors.

The group’s French branch immediately announced it would appeal the verdict.

The court convicted the Church of Scientology’s French office, its library and six of its leaders of fraud. Investigators said the group pressured members into paying large sums of money for questionable financial gain and used “commercial harassment” against recruits.