Karl Lagerfeld and Diane von Furstenberg are strongly defending French photographer and writer François-Marie Banier from charges he scammed L’Oréal shareholder Liliane Bettencourt out of $1 billion. In 2007, the heiress’ daughter, Françoise Bettencourt Meyers, accused Banier, Liliane’s friend, of exploitation and lodged a criminal complaint. A trial is slated for this fall. But Lagerfeld tells Bob Colacello in Vanity Fair: “What I think is horrible is the daughter — you don’t put your mother, in her late 80s, in a scandal like this. For me that’s unforgivable.” Lagerfeld mused that Liliane’s “life was boring. And it was more fun with François-Marie . . . I see him really as a victim. Getting an expensive gift doesn’t make you a thief.” Von Furstenberg, a longtime friend of Banier — who’s also pals with Mick Jagger and Johnny Depp — said of Liliane: “The woman is certainly not gaga . . . She is the one who does exactly what she wants. She’s a totally spoiled, rich little girl . . . and who has been paying her friends all her life.”