A 56-year-old man spent three years impersonating his dead mother to fraudulently collect her pension while her body lay in their family home.
The fraudster, an unemployed nurse from Mantua, Italy, failed to report his mother's death when she died at 82 around three years ago.
Instead of notifying police, he wrapped her body in bedsheets, placed it inside a sleeping bag and concealed it within the family residence.
He then transformed himself into his mother's likeness by wearing lipstick and foundation, adorning himself with a pearl necklace and earrings, and trimming his hair to match her style.
The sick act enabled him to keep receiving her pension, generating around £47,000 per year, and keeping hold of her three-house-strong property portfolio.
Earlier this month, he arrived at a Government office in Borgo Virgilio, a suburb of Mantua, wearing a long skirt and presenting himself as "Graziella Dall'Oglio" to renew her identity card.
The Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera described his disguise as a "Mrs Doubtfire-style transformation", referencing the 1993 film starring Robin Williams.
His elaborate costume included nail varnish and old-fashioned jewellery designed to complete the illusion of being an elderly woman.
Graziella Dall'Oglio's son transformed himself into his mother's likeness by wearing lipstick and foundation
But a Government employee grew suspicious of the supposed elderly woman's masculine characteristics, including an unusually thick neck and a voice which occasionally dropped to deeper tones.
The staff member noticed the visitor's skin texture on their hands appeared inconsistent with someone aged 85, while his facial wrinkles seemed unnatural.
Francesco Aporti, the mayor of Borgo Virgilio, told Corriere della Sera: "He came into the council offices wearing a long skirt, he was wearing lipstick and nail varnish, a necklace and old-style earrings.
FRAUDSTERS UNMASKED - READ MORE:
The scam was uncovered when Ms Dall'Oglio's son turned up at a Government office in Borgo Virgilio (pictured)
|"But up close his neck was too thick and his wrinkles were strange, the skin on his hands did not seem to be that of an 85-year-old woman."
The concerned employee immediately alerted both police and the local mayor about the suspicious visitor.
Officers compared official photographs of the genuine Ms Dall'Oglio with images of her son, confirming their suspicions about the impersonation.
When confronted with evidence of his deception, the man consented to a search of his residence.
PICTURED: Italian military police in Bari. In a statement, the Carabinieri said the body was found 'in a clear state of mummification'
|GETTY
Authorities discovered Ms Dall'Oglio's mummified corpse in the laundry room, wrapped in bedsheets and concealed within a sleeping bag.
Italy's military police confirmed in a statement that "the body was in a clear state of mummification."
The remains were transported to a local hospital mortuary for post-mortem examination.
The man faces investigation for illegally concealing a corpse and benefit fraud.
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