A 56-year-old man in Italy is accused of impersonating his deceased mother to collect money from her pension in a case that is straight out of the movies.
The son, who is reportedly unemployed, began dressing as his mother, Graziella Dall’Oglio, after she died three years ago at the age of 82 and hid her body at their home, the New York Post reported Monday. The outlet cited the Italian newspaper called Courier della Sera.
A photo of the suspect shows just how well he appeared to disguise himself:
Now, authorities are calling the case the “Mrs. Doubtfire scandal” in reference to the 1993 movie starring Robin Williams in which he plays a divorced father who dresses as an elderly female housekeeper to be able to spend time with his children.
The suspect never reported his mother’s death, and according to a TMZ article, “The man was reportedly raking in around $61,000 a year from his mom’s survivor pension — her husband had died a few years earlier — and was sitting pretty with the family’s investments in real estate and land.”
The suspect allegedly dressed as his mother and renewed her identity card at a government office near Mantua after she passed away. However, the ruse did not last because a government worker noticed his manly features and informed authorities who took a closer look at photos of the man and his mother, per the Post.
It was unclear if officials arrested him but he was being investigated for illegally concealing a body and benefit fraud. He allowed authorities to search his residence where they found the elderly woman’s body.
However, officials did not expect any foul play.
Social media users shared their thoughts on the suspect’s photo, one person writing, “I cant tell the difference honestly,” while someone else said, “Mrs. Doubtfire is the incorrect analogy… this is more like some Norman Bates Psycho type shit!”
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