An Italian man has been caught attempting to impersonate his deceased mother in a scheme to illegally obtain her pension benefits.
This unemployed former nurse, hailing from the small town of Borgo Virgilio in northern Italy, disguised himself using lipstick, a 1970s-style blouse, and a pearl necklace to visit the local Registry Office.
His goal was to renew the identity card of Graziella Dall’Oglio, his late mother.
However, she passed away three years ago, and he had been unlawfully collecting her pension during this time, amassing nearly €53,000 (approximately $94,000), according to reports by the Italian newspaper Corriere Della Sera.
This incident has been dubbed the “Mrs. Doubtfire scandal,” drawing comparisons to the 1993 film starring Robin Williams.
In a shocking twist, authorities discovered the man’s 56-year-old mother’s mummified remains when they searched her residence.
Dall’oglio had not been heard from in years, according to reports.
The mayor of the town, Francesco Aporti, told Corriere Della Sera the scam was exposed after an employee at the registry office noticed some strange things when “Graziella” came to renew her identification, and warned the mayor and police.
“[He was] wearing a suit with a long skirt, lipstick on his lips, nail polish on his hands, jewellery around his neck and hands, old-fashioned earrings,” Aporti said.
“But that neck, upon closer inspection, was a bit too thick, and even the wrinkles were strange, the skin on his hands didn’t look like the 85-year-old he claimed to be.
“And his voice, feminine yes, but occasionally a few masculine notes escaped.”
After comparing photos between the real Dall’Oglio and those of her son posing as her, they realised they had been fooled, and their investigations revealed her son had been filing regular tax returns.
To bring him in, they called the son and said Dall’Oglio needed to present herself to the office to complete the identification process; once the son arrived dressed up as his mother, they took him to a police station, where he admitted his scheme.
They found the body of the mother in the home, with a statement from Italian police saying the body had been wrapped in bedsheets and a sleeping bag.
“She probably died of natural causes, but that will be established by a postmortem,” the mayor added.
“It’s a very, very sad story, certainly one of great loneliness.”
