ROME: A 70-year-old Italian man who pretended to be completely blind for more than five decades has been caught after fraudulently collecting over one million euros in disability benefits.
According to international media reports, the man from Vicenza, Italy, falsely claimed to be totally blind for 53 years to receive government disability payments amounting to more than €1 million (over Rs320 million).
The bizarre case was highlighted by Oddity Central, which reported that the man was declared completely blind following a workplace accident over half a century ago. Since then, he continued to present himself as blind, successfully deceiving authorities for decades.
Investigators discovered the long-running fraud after noticing inconsistencies in his medical records and daily activities, revealing that the man had been living a normal life despite claiming total blindness.
Authorities have now launched legal proceedings against him for defrauding the state and misusing public welfare funds. The case has sparked outrage in Italy, raising concerns about loopholes in the country’s disability verification system.
Recently, the local police in Italy became suspicious of him and the authorities started gathering evidence against him.
Meanwhile, the police recorded a video of the Italian citizen gardening with dangerous tools and even to purchase these tools, he was found carefully checking the tools in the market.
During the period of 2 months, the evidence obtained by the police had made it clear that he was not blind but was pretending to be blind.
According to the authorities, the assistance given to the man has been withheld on the charge of defrauding the state, while the tax audit of the accused has been ordered and a tax of 200,000 euros has been levied on him.
The authorities have also demanded that the accused be charged with defrauding the state.
