Mathias Pogba, brother of former Manchester United star Paul Pogba, was sentenced Thursday by a Paris criminal court to three years in prison — two of which are suspended — in an extortion and kidnapping case, ESPN reports.
Mathias had already spent time in detention and the remainder of the sentence will be served under house arrest with electronic monitoring.
This sentence is in line with the prosecution’s request. His lawyer said he would appeal the ruling.
The case at the Paris criminal court took place without Pogba in attendance.
A judge had ordered Mathias and five other men to stand trial following an investigation into whether Pogba was the target of an extortion scheme by his brother and childhood friends in 2022.
Mathias went on trial last month “for the offenses of attempted extortion and criminal conspiracy.”
The five others — identified by their first names only — demanded €13 million from Pogba, who was held up at gunpoint by hooded men in March 2022.
The defendants repeatedly intimidated Pogba, claiming he should have supported them after he became an international star. They were accused of extortion, abduction and confinement to facilitate a crime, as well as criminal conspiracy.
Roushdane K., suspected of masterminding the blackmail, was sentenced to eight years in prison. The others also received jail terms.
According to reports in French media, the court also found that Pogba had suffered economic losses of €197,000 and moral losses of €50,000. It ordered all the defendants except Mathias to jointly pay this sum to the 2018 FIFA World Cup winner.
During the investigation, Pogba said he paid €100,000 to the organised group including his brother.
The case became public after Mathias posted threats on social media to share “explosive” revelations about his brother, fellow French star Kylian Mbappé and Pogba’s agent Rafaela Pimenta.
Mathias was also a football player who spent most of his career with lower-tier teams in Europe.
