A brazen attempt at fraud in which a perpetrator posed as a "maresciallo of the Carabinieri" was foiled yesterday in Ancona. Officers from the Ancona Carabinieri company arrested a 24-year-old man from Melito di Napoli in the act. He had tried to extort money and jewelry from a 99-year-old woman.
The operation began at around 1 p.m. when the emergency number 112 received a call for help from the elderly woman's foreign carer. The woman showed great presence of mind: she was on the phone with the alleged maresciallo, who claimed that 10,000 euros were needed to save the old lady's daughter from a prison sentence because she had been involved in a serious traffic accident.
The carer immediately recognized the attempted fraud - partly because her client's daughter had never had a driver's license - and dialled the emergency number. At the same time, she kept up the conversation with the alleged police officer and another accomplice, who was crying and pretending to be the alleged daughter.
The operations center in Ancona responded immediately and sent a civilian team to the victim's home. The officers waited there for the money collector to arrive. The care worker handed over jewelry of low value and a small amount of money. When the man reacted confused and demanded the full amount agreed on the phone, the police intervened and arrested him.
The 24-year-old man from Campania, who is already known to the police, had posed as a court-appointed "money collector" in the apartment. The loot was recovered and returned to the victim. The man was ordered to be arrested in flagrante delicto. The court in Ancona ordered him to stay in his home municipality. The local police authority also issued an expulsion order from the municipality of Ancona. It should be noted that the detainee is presumed innocent until a final judgment is passed.
