Accusations continue against Super Minister Merceron

On the same day Willy Lamothe and Muriel Beauchamp divorce, Frantz Merceron also divorces his French wife to immediately marry Muriel without a marriage contract. A year later, in 1979, Willy Lamothe dies suddenly, leaving behind a considerable inheritance worth $7 million US dollars (over $32.3 million USD in 2026) and two orphans: Vanessa and Sabrina.

Frantz Merceron, then super minister of finance under Jean-Claude Duvalier, used his position to intimidate Dr. Louis G. Lamothe, father of future Prime Minister Laurent Lamothe, to seize the estate left by Willy Lamothe. A squad of more than 14 Tontons Macoutes was dispatched to the doctor's home to scare him.

After dismantling Willy Lamothe’s assets, Merceron officially adopted Vanessa and Sabrina as his own daughters. He became their legal guardian without any checks, transferring all their assets to the benefit of the Merceron-Beauchamp couple.

When the Duvalier regime collapsed in 1986, Frantz Merceron fled to France where he lived in golden exile. A Radio-Canada investigation revealed that the diverted funds had passed through Swiss and offshore banks before being placed in a trust fund in Canada.