Horter Family Receives Suspended Sentences for Scamming French Mulhouse Olympic Swimming Club

The Horter family reportedly received suspended sentences on Monday for a financial scam involving their Mulhouse Olympic Swimming Club (MON), meaning they will likely avoid prison by serving time on probation.

Lionel Horter, the former coach of double Olympic champion Yannick Agnel, was given a one-year suspended sentence along with a two-year ban from managing a company. Lionel was found guilty of collecting $79,000 in unwarranted fees and seizing a Land Rover owned by the club. Agnel was indicted in 2021 for sexually assaulting Lionel’s daughter back in 2016 when she was just 13 years old and he was 24. An investigation found that several members of MON management were aware of Agnel’s intimate relationship with the victim, though a trial in his case has still not concluded.

MON president Franck Horter was dealt an eight-month suspended sentence for totaling over $265,000 worth of fake invoices. His mother, Marie Octavie Horter, went unpunished for breach of trust related to about $600 worth of expense report items.

Marjorie Hauswirth, the wife of Lionel Horter, got a 10-month suspended sentence in addition to a two-year ban from managing a company. A court in eastern France determined she funneled more than $280,000 to consulting companies owned by her husband and brother-in-law.

MON was also indicted for fraud for acts dating back to 2014-16. The Horter family was due to relinquish management of the MON pools on January 31, 2022, following a financial audit last year.

Among the famous swimmers who trained at MON in the past include Roxana Maracineanu, the 1998 world champion and 2000 Olympic silver medalist in the women’s 200 backstroke, who is the current Minister for Sports in the French government. Three-time Olympic medalist Laure Manaudou and four-time Olympic medalist Amaury Leveaux are also among the club’s noteworthy alumni.