Italian Man Dressed as Dead Mother to Pocket Pension for Years
Italian Man Dressed as Dead Mother to Pocket Pension for Years
A former nurse near Mantua allegedly wore a wig, skirt and lipstick to impersonate his mother and claim her survivor’s pension for years, while concealing her mummified body at home.
A 56-year-old man from Borgo Virgilio, near Mantua, is under investigation for impersonating his dead mother to collect her survivor’s pension for years. Dressed in a blouse, a short brown wig, skirt and lipstick to resemble the octogenarian, he reportedly continued to claim the pension after her death in 2022 and earned income from the family’s real estate and land, including about €53,000 a year in survivor’s benefits. The allegations portray a meticulous fraud that stretched over several years, aided by the family’s assets and a refusal to report the mother’s death.
The fraud began to unravel when the man visited the registry to renew his mother’s identity card on November 16. Identity checks flagged the renewal as if for an elderly woman who was no longer alive, prompting investigators to scrutinize the case. Officers then discovered that his mother’s body was mummified and stored at the home, revealing the deeper deception behind the pension claims.
The suspect, described in local reports as a former nurse who is now unemployed, has been arrested and faces charges of fraud, impersonation in public, and concealing a corpse. The case has drawn comparisons to the 1993 film Mrs. Doubtfire, highlighting the audacity of using a dead relative’s identity to access money and property.
Authorities are continuing to examine financial records to determine the full extent of the scheme and any additional assets involved. The investigation is ongoing, with officials emphasizing the importance of rigorous identity checks to prevent such fraud in the future.
