Straight out of ‘Mrs Doubtfire’: How an unemployed man collected his dead mother’s pension
An unemployed Italian man impersonated his dead mother to collect thousands of euro a year from her pension in what authorities called a “Mrs. Doubtfire scandal.”
In a bizarre case that have generated “Mrs. Doubtfire” scandal, style headlines, a 56-year-old Italian man was arrested in November 2025 for impersonating his dead mother to continue collecting her pension.
The suspect, an unemployed former nurse from the town of Borgo Virgilio (near Mantua, Italy), had been concealing the death of his mother, Graziella Dall’Oglio, who passed away in 2022 at the age of 85.
Instead of reporting her death, he kept her mummified body hidden in their home for three years. During this time, he illegally collected approximately €53,000 (roughly $60,000) in pension payments.
The 56-year-old former nurse is reportedly under investigation in northern Italy in a case that has been dubbed the "Mrs Doubtfire scandal". https://t.co/2eCexn1KLD
— euronews (@euronews) November 25, 2025
The “Mrs. Doubtfire” disguise
To keep the payments coming, the man had to occasionally appear in public as his mother. His disguise was elaborate and strikingly similar to the plot of the 1993 Robin Williams film:
He wore heavy greasepaint makeup to hide his features and donned a short brown wig and dressed in his mother’s clothes, including a blouse, a long skirt, and vintage earrings.
He also painted his nails and used a cane to mimic the gait of an elderly woman.
Nabbed
The scheme unraveled in November 2025 when the man visited the local registry office to renew “his” (the mother’s) identity card. Despite the elaborate costume, a clerk became suspicious for several reasons:
The clerk noticed the skin on his hands did not look like that of an 85-year-old.
Under the heavy makeup, the clerk could see the texture of “beard holes” (stubble) on his chin and neck and while he attempted a falsetto, his natural deep voice occasionally slipped out.
The clerk alerted the local police and the mayor, Francesco Aporti. When officers reviewed surveillance footage, they saw the “elderly woman” arrive in a car, despite the mother not having a driver’s license. They confronted the man, who eventually confessed.
The aftermath
Following his confession, police searched the home and discovered the mother’s body wrapped in a sheet and stuffed into a sleeping bag.
The man is currently under investigation for multiple crimes, including concealing a corpse, fraud against the state, and false impersonation.
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