A 56-year-old Italian man successfully disguised himself as his mother to collect her pension.
The man was, for a time, successful in pretending to be his mother, Graziella Dall'Oglio, who died three years ago. The Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera reported that he was successfully able to receive about $60,000 from his mother's pension before officials became suspicious.
Dall'Oglio, who was 85 when she died in 2022, had been receiving a survivor's pension from her late husband as well as income from the family's real estate, the newspaper reported.
The man's disguise was noticed on November 16.
"It all started with the intuition of an employee at the registry office. Last Tuesday, by appointment, she had received this woman who wanted to renew her expired ID card. She looked very much like the woman in the photo on the ID," Mayor Francesco Aporti of Borgo Virgilio told the outlet.
"But there was something that didn't convince the employee, like the hair on her neck, the heavy makeup, and it looked like beard holes were protruding from the greasepaint," he said. "They analyzed the video surveillance footage and saw the woman arrive in a car. Alarm bells ringing: the woman doesn't have a driver's license. Then they conducted further investigations, and piece by piece, the picture of this unpleasant situation began to emerge."
An investigation was launched, and and the man eventually admitted the scam. The newspaper reported that police also searched the man's home, where they found the mummified remains of his mother.
"The woman may have died of natural causes, but the autopsy will probably determine that," Aporti told the outlet. "In any case, they had no financial problems ... It's a very, very sad story."
