By Tim Binnall
An Italian man is in trouble with the law after he was busted trying to impersonate his dead mother as part of a long-running scheme wherein he collected her pension checks for years. The bizarre and rather macabre case reportedly began in 2022 when Graziella Dall’Oglio passed away in the community of Borgo Virgilio. Rather than report her death to authorities, the woman's unemployed son hid her body in the home and continued cashing her pension checks. Over the next three years, the unnamed suspect allegedly banked around $60,000 from the scam until it all unraveled in spectacular fashion earlier this month when her identification card expired.
Since renewing the paperwork required an in-person visit to a local government office, the man came up with the rather audacious idea to impersonate her in the hopes of keeping the grit going. Showing commendable commitment to the caper, seen below, he styled his hair similar to his mother's, donned her clothes, jewelry, and makeup, and even painted his nails to complete the look. While the ruse was remarkably meticulous, it was all for naught as a worker at the office quickly grew suspicious of his appearance and voice, which prompted a call to police.
Authorities investigating the situation quickly deduced that the 'woman' attempting to renew her ID was, in fact, Graziella Dall’Oglio's son. A subsequent search of his home revealed the unfortunate fate of his mother, who was found mummified after being hidden away for three years. As one might imagine, her son now faces multiple charges as a result of the misguided scheme that Italian media has amusingly likened to the film 'Mrs. Doubtfire.'