When "Mrs. Doubtfire" becomes deadly serious
It sounds like a macabre movie plot, but it's pure reality: according to media reports, a 57-year-old man from Italy pretended to be his deceased mother for years in order to continue collecting her pension—and was only caught when he appeared in person at the authorities' office. Disguised as an elderly lady with a dress, wig, and makeup. The case from the small town of Borgo Virgilio is as absurd as it is shocking – and reveals a cold-hearted fraud with tragicomic overtones.
According to Spiegel.de, the man had not only concealed his mother's death, but had even wrapped her body in sleeping bags and hidden it in the laundry room. The authorities only became suspicious when the woman's identity card expired—in Italy, you have to appear in person to renew it. And the person who showed up was not Graziella Dall'Oglio, but her son in costume.
How the deception was exposed
An official at the citizens' office became suspicious when the supposedly elderly lady sat down opposite him: the hair on her neck and chin did not match that of a typical pensioner, nor did her distinctly masculine hands. When it then emerged that the "lady" had arrived by car—even though Dall'Oglio had never had a driver's license—it was clear that something was very wrong here.
The police were alerted, arrested the man, and during the subsequent search of the house found the mummified corpse of his mother in the closet. The unemployed nurse had allegedly been living alone in the house for years. Meanwhile, the pension payments continued—presumably for many years.
Not an isolated case in Italy
As absurd as this case may be, it is not an isolated incident. In Italy, pension fraud involving deceased persons is alarmingly common. Every year, cases are uncovered in which family members continue to collect the pensions of deceased relatives. This is possible, among other things, because the databases of social welfare authorities and registry offices are often not updated in a timely manner. Deaths can thus sometimes go unnoticed for years—and fraudsters take advantage of this.
What does Recht 24/7 think about it?
Anyone who mummifies their dead mother in order to get her pension is not only completely morally derailed—that is criminal energy in disguise. This case is not a bad joke, but a prime example of how absurdly laws can be circumvented when control mechanisms fail. And anyone who gets involved in such a farce will ultimately need more than just a good lawyer—they may also need a therapist.
Source: spiegel.de
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