A man has been accused of dressing up as his dead mother in a bid to continue claiming her pension in a scheme reminiscent of Mrs. Doubtfire.
The unidentified 58-year-old, currently unemployed but a former nurse, is accused of cashing in on his deceased mother’s pension for the past three years.
The plot came to light when Graziella Dall'Oglio’s ID card expired and her son reportedly dressed up as her to dupe a registry office clerk in Borgo Virgilio, in the Mantua province of Italy, earlier this month.
Highlights
- A 58-year-old man allegedly impersonated his deceased mother to fraudulently claim her pension for over three years.
- The scheme was uncovered when the man tried to renew his mother’s ID while dressed as her, raising suspicion at the registry office.
- Authorities found inconsistencies like masculine traits and hair on their neck during the ID renewal attempt, which triggered an investigation.
The man is accused of a Mrs. Doubtfire-like scam to claim his mom's pension
Image credits: 20th Century-Fox/Getty Images
According to Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera, he turned up to renew the card dressed in a long skirt, while wearing makeup, lipstick, nail polish, and jewelry on November 16.
But the clerk soon became suspicious as the man did not look like Dall'Oglio, 85, on the expired photo ID, at times sounded masculine, and had hair on his neck.
The mayor of Borgo Virgilio, Francesco Aporti, was notified and local police launched an investigation.
As Dall'Oglio was the widow of a doctor, her pension totaled around $61,000 a year, alongside income from the family's real estate and land.
"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,” Aporti told Corriere della Sera.
Image credits: Facebook
“She looked very much like the woman in the photo on the ID. 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.
“The woman then left and would return later to collect it. The employee shared her concerns with us, and so the local police officers began their own investigation,” Aporti added.
“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."
Investigators then found that Dall'Oglio had not been seen in years, and had no recent records of hospital or doctor appointments.
Recently, her son had also signed documents on her behalf as proxy, while other paperwork in her name did not match older signatures.
Image credits: Commune Borgo Virgilio
Following the discovery, authorities called the man and told him his mother would need to come back in as the procedure hadn’t been completed.
When he returned to the registry office, he was directed to the local police station across the street under the guise of completing the identification process.
During a police interview, he admitted to being the woman’s son and granted officers permission to search her home.
Investigators then found a mummified body in one of the rooms, which is believed to be Dall'Oglio, but authorities have not yet confirmed their identity.
“The woman may have died of natural causes, but the autopsy will probably determine that,” Aporti told Corriere della Sera.
“In any case, they had no financial problems. Aside from the pension, we found real estate in both their names: three houses, some land. It's a very, very sad story."
According to La Repubblica, the man is being investigated for concealing a corpse, fraud against state damages, impersonation, and falsehood in public.