'Patterned blouse of 1970s, wig, makeup': Italian man disguises as dead mother, siphons over Rs 54 lakh pension

An Italian man who was accused of impersonating himself as his dead mother to fraudulently claim pension, has been arrested.

The unidentified former nurse who is currently unemployed, allegedly claimed thousands of euros in the form of pension payments after his mother died in 2022, according to an Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera.

The man never reported his mother, Graziella Dall’Oglio's death at 82 in Borgo Virgilio and stuffed his corpse in a sleeping bag at their family home and mummified it.

The son carefully disguised every detail of his mother - her hair, makeup, earrings and a patterned blouse from the 1970s.

He not only siphoned the pension amount but also maintained a control over the dead women's three properties, leading to a constant cash flow for himself.

According to the newspaper report, he was able to pocket about $61,000 annually.

But the man's disguise couldn't befool an eagle-eyed government employee who noticed his masculine features including his voice, dark hair on the back of his neck, hands and his chin when he was trying to renew his mother's identity card at a registry office in Italy's Borgo Virgilio.

The employee who grew suspicious of his appearance decided to stall him and told him to come the next day. He informed the authorities who waited for the son to arrive the next day but he was nowhere to be see.

An investigation led to his house where the police found his mother's mummified body.

Francesco Aporti, the mayor of Borgo Virgilio, told the publication that they didn't suspect any foul play in the old woman's death.

He said, "She probably died of natural causes but that will be established by the postmortem. It is a very strange story and very, very sad."

Talking about the son's appearance after comparing pictures of the real Dall’Oglio with images of the man in disguise, he said, "The neck was a bit too thick, the wrinkles seemed strange, and the skin on the hands did not look like that of an 85-year-old."

The son is accused of concealing a corpse, fraud against the state, impersonation, and forging public documents.

An autopsy has been ordered to determine how the man's mother died and he is also being charged of removing fluids from her corpse to prevent decomposition.

A investigation is also being conducted to find the exact amount of money defrauded by the son.