'Pathological miser' fined and jailed

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NANTES, France, March 1 (UPI) -- A French man was jailed for using photocopied supermarket discount vouchers and claiming money-back offers using multiple addresses.

The man, identified only as a 45-year-old unemployed former-white collar worker with considerable savings, was described by his lawyer in court as a "pathological miser," Radio France Internationale reported Friday.

Investigators told the court he photocopied gift vouchers to receive discounts at supermarkets in Brittany, as well as taking advantage of "100 percent money-back" offers by using different addresses.

A supermarket manager said the man claimed 12,000 euros ($15,526) in savings while spending only 8,000 euros ($10,417) in his store in 2010-2011, the regional newspaper Ouest-France reported.

Lawyer Helene Laudic-Baron called her client's actions "a kind of gambling. He just wanted to see how far he could go." Several other businesses declared themselves parties to the case against him.

He was fined 5,000 euros ($6,511) and received a six-month jail sentence, Radio France Internationale said.