French firm denies fraud over faulty breast implants

Lawyers for the founder of French firm PIP whose faulty breast implants sparked a global health scare denied wrongdoing today as the court said it would deliver a verdict in December.
In closing arguments, the defence called for a lighter sentence than the four-years imprisonment requested by prosecutors.
Judge Claude Veillard said the ruling would be made on December 10.
The month-long trial in Marseille saw prosecutor Jacques Dallest also calling for PIP founder Jean-Claude Mas to pay a USD 130,000 fine and to be banned from working in medical services or from running a company.
Five PIP executives are on trial in the case including the 73-year-old Mas, charged with aggravated fraud for using industrial-grade silicone in implants.

The others on trial are PIP's former general manager Claude Couty, quality control director Hannelore Font, technical director Loic Gossart and product director Thierry Brinon.

The prosecutor called for prison terms of between six months and two years for the other defendants.
Mas, speaking in court to his four co-accused, said he regretted "the manner in which PIP had to wind up."
"A large percentage of the victims had NuSil gel (which is made by a California company which can be used in medical applications) in their implants," he said. Mas reiterated that the gel used by his company was "not toxic or dangerous."

"You see that all the tests say that they are not at all dangerous," said Mas's lawyer Yves Haddad, referring to results of tests he furnished to the court.
They were conducted by the independent laboratory LEMI (Laboratory in charge of Evaluating Implant Materials).
"About 50 tests were conducted between 2002 until 2008. I am not saying this to defend Mr Mas, I am saying this for you," Haddad said, referring to the victims.
News of the faulty implants in 2011 sparked fears worldwide, but health officials in various countries have said they were not toxic and did not increase the risk of breast cancer.

More than 4,000 women have reported ruptures in the implants and in France alone 15,000 have had the PIP implants replaced.