An Italian man named Borgo Virgilio has been accused of an elaborate scheme after he was caught dressing up as his dead mother to claim her pension. The 56-year-old reportedly concocted the desperate plan to keep the money flowing after his mother, Graziella Dall’Oglio, passed away at the age of 82. Instead of reporting her death, he his her body in his laundry room. To keep collecting her pension, Virgilio realized he needed to physically impersonate her. In what repots are calling a “Mrs. Doubtfire-style transformation,” he shaved his body hair, applied foundation and lipstick, painted his nails, and donned a long skirt, pearl necklace and clip-on earrings. The fraud came to light when Virgilio walked into a local government agency, hoping to renew his mother’s expired identification card. Despite the elaborate disguise, staff members became suspicious, noticing that his wrinkles were strange and the skin on his hands didn’t seem to be that of an 85-year-old woman. Although Virgilio attempted to soften his voice, it still had a masculine tone. Realizing they were being deceived, employees alerted police, who compared photos of the son and mother. They confirmed that the resemblance was too close to be a coincidence. To catch him in the act, police set a trap, summoning the “mother” back to the town hall. When the man arrived in drag, he was met by officers. Confronted with the deception, the man reportedly agreed to let police search his home. There, in the laundry room, investigators found the mummified remains of Graziella Dall’Oglio. The coroner determined the woman had died of natural causes. Investigators said Virgilio had pocketed approximately $95,000 from his mother’s pension and income from real estate she owned. He will now stand trial for fraud and illegally concealing a body.
