Scientologists convicted of fraud

A French court has convicted the Church of Scientology of fraud.



However, the court has not stopped the group from operating in France.



Two branches of the group\'s operations and several of its leaders in France have also been fined.



The case came after complaints from two women, one of whom said she was manipulated into paying more than EUR$20,000 in the 1990s.



The Church\'s Celebrity Centre and a bookshop have been ordered to pay a fine of EUR$600,000.



Alain Rosenberg, the group\'s head in France, was handed a two year suspended jail sentence and fined EUR$30,000.



Unlike the US, France has always refused to recognise Scientology as a religion, arguing that it is a purely commercial operation, designed to make as much money as it can at the expense of often vulnerable victims.