Police probe after thousands conned in 'magic cheese' scam

France is investigating what it says is a scam mounted by a French woman who sold thousands of Chileans kits to make "magic cheese" for French beauty products.

Gilberte Van Erpe, who was arrested and placed under investigation in France last year, is suspected of setting up a vast pyramid scheme, telling buyers the fermented mass produced by the kits could be sold to cosmetics companies in France.

A French investigator, examining magistrate Sylvie Gagnard, will fly to Chile to register the lawsuits of thousands of people who claim they were victimised, said Isabelle Montagne, a spokeswoman for the public prosecutor's office.



"We call it the 'case of the magic cheese'," Montagne said.

"She swindled people, she abused their trust to make them believe that she could commercialise that material."

Claiming that the fermented substance was all the rage in Paris as an ingredient for expensive moisturisers and shampoos, Van Erpe charged clients some 300 euros (277 pounds) for the kits, which had a market value of about 3 euros. However, the product never made it to French cosmetics labs and most investors lost their money.