An Italian scammer who claimed he was blind and received £144,000 in benefits over 13 years has been caught after he was seen driving and window shopping.
Then man was was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of fraud, news reports said, after he was also spotted riding a scooter.
The man in Palermo, Sicily, received at least 170,000 euros (£144,000) in benefits since 2008 after attesting that he was ‘totally blind’ as a result of a congenital problem, local media reported.
![An Italian scammer who claimed he was blind and received £144,000 in benefits over 13 years has been caught after he was seen driving and window shopping [stock image]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2021/12/16/08/51864293-10316165-image-a-2_1639644607280.jpg)
An Italian scammer who claimed he was blind and received £144,000 in benefits over 13 years has been caught after he was seen driving and window shopping [stock image]
Media reported that Italy’s financial police received an alert after the man renewed his driver’s license for 2018 in spite of his previous declaration.
At stake-outs authorities saw the man driving while dialing on his cellphone.
Palermo Today reports that the 40 year-old man was also seen riding on a scooter in Italy without insurance.
He was already well-known to authorities. In fact, he had been sentenced for nearly 15 years last year to serve a prison term.
This case is being appealed.
Although he was the sole owner of his garage, the man received Italy’s monthly welfare payment, or ‘basic Income’ as it is known.
It is not the first case in which a blind claimant has been arrested.
The Local reports that a man was detained in 2013, after lying to The Local about his blindness and claiming 140,000 euros. After he recorded himself giving direction while out shopping, he was arrested.
This news outlet reports that 40 blind people were taken into police custody in Rome in July 2013. They had been driving and reading newspapers as well as performing other everyday activities.
![During stake-outs, authorities witnessed the 'blind' man driving - while dialling on his phone at the same time - looking at shop windows while walking through a busy mall and teaching his daughter to ride a bike [stock image]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2021/12/16/08/51864149-10316165-image-a-1_1639644431331.jpg)
Authorities witnessed the “blind” man drive – dialling his phone simultaneously – and looked at shop windows as he walked through busy shopping malls. He also taught his daughter how to ride a bicycle. [stock image]
In Italy, disability fraud is very common in Sicily and its southern regions.
Each year thousands of cases are discovered by investigators, which costs the state hundreds of millions.
In once case reported by The Guardian, a man was arrested in April 2019 for allegedly falsely claiming to be a paraplegic, claiming almost £120,000.
According to police, the man even had an audience with Pope Francis in 2015. The scam started in 2007, when he arranged a road accident along with an accomplice.
Like many countries in Europe, Italy has a welfare state, and its expenditure of social benefits is one of the highest among OECD countries. Its welfare state is based upon the corporatist-conservative model.
Italy’s 2019 social expenditures were at 28.1 percent of its GDP. The OECD-average was 20 percent at that time.
Most social benefits in the country are given to those with low income, elderly or disabled households.