Italian authorities are investigating a bizarre case of benefit fraud in which a man allegedly dressed as his dead mother, using a wig and makeup, to continue collecting her pension payments.
The Unmasking at the Council Office
The scheme unravelled earlier this month when the 56-year-old son from Borgo Virgilio, near Mantua, attempted to renew his mother's identity card at the local council office. Francesco Aporti, the mayor of Borgo Virgilio, described how the man arrived shuffling in as "an old woman," complete with lipstick, nail polish, jewellery, and a dark brown bob wig.
Council staff grew suspicious when they noticed inconsistencies in the impersonation. The mayor told Corriere della Sera that the man tried to imitate a female voice, "but occasionally a few masculine notes slipped out." Upon closer inspection, the staff member noted that the man's neck was too thick and the wrinkles appeared strange. Most tellingly, "the skin on his hands did not seem to be that of an 85-year-old woman."
A Grim Discovery at Home
Alerted by the suspicious council employee, police launched an investigation. Authorities compared an official photograph of the deceased woman with the individual who had visited the office. This led them to inspect the man's home, where they made a grim discovery.
Investigators found the body of his mother hidden in the laundry room. The woman had reportedly died in 2022, meaning her son had allegedly concealed her body for approximately two years while continuing to claim thousands of euros from her pension.
A Pattern of Pension Fraud in Italy
This is not an isolated incident in Italy. The country has seen similar cases where offspring hide the bodies of deceased relatives to continue receiving benefits.
In 2023, authorities discovered that a man in Verona had kept his mother's body at home for five years while claiming her pension. The same year, in a town in Puglia, another son managed to conceal his father's body for a decade while continuing to receive payments.
According to Corriere della Sera, the Borgo Virgilio suspect was an unemployed nurse who, thanks to his mother's pension and three properties, maintained an annual income of approximately €53,000. The man now faces serious charges including benefit fraud and hiding a body.
