In the lawsuit, Bettencourt Meyers alleged that her mother's closest friend, photographer François-Marie Banier, used his "platonic love affair" with Bettencourt to manipulate the elderly heiress into giving him approximately $1.86 billion worth of cash, art and real estate, The New York Times reported.
Bettencourt Meyers filed a criminal complaint against Banier in December 2007, The Times reported. Bettencourt, who was diagnosed with dementia, disputed her daughter's assertion, said she freely shared her assets with Banier.
In a 2008 letter to Banier, Bettencourt described their relationship to him writing: "With you, I am like a mother, a lover, all the feelings pass through me. It makes me tremble," according to Vanity Fair.
In July 2009, Bettencourt Meyers told a French newspaper that Mr. Banier's "objective is clear: break away my mother from our family to profit from her," according to The New York Times. "I will not let it happen."
Bettencourt Meyers added nine other defendants to the case after a dramatic investigation, that even involved then French President Sarkozy.
The case went to trial in 2015. Bainer was convicted of "abus de faiblesse," or "abuse of weakness," sentenced to two and half years in prison, forced to pay Bettencourt €158 million in damages. The jail sentence and payment were later reversed in an appeal.