Usury on Citizen's Income: 8 convicted in Cremona for an illegal monetization scheme.

Eight people were sentenced by the Preliminary Investigations Judge of the Court of Cremona in the context of criminal proceedings concerning crimes of Wear e abusive provision of payment servicesThe sentence comes at the end of a complex investigative activity carried out by the Economic and Financial Police Unit of the Guardia di Finanza of Cremona, which has allowed us to reconstruct a complex system of illicit monetization of the Basic income.

The investigations have documented numerous irregular conducts within four commercial establishments Cremonese: two tobacconists, an activity of Catering and an minimarketThe subjects involved, working in collaboration with each other and taking advantage of the state of need of some beneficiaries of the subsidy, acted as a sort of illegal “ATM”.

According to the findings, the defendants used the RDC cards to carry out simulated purchases of goods and services, returning a sum of cash to cardholders reduced by a usurious percentage, well beyond what is permitted by the legislation and the thresholds established by the Bank of Italy. In this way, the regulatory limits that provide for the possibility of withdraw no more than 100 euros in cash per month via RDC cards.

Overall, they have been rebuilt 1.556 operations, For a total of 70.000 euros cashed inThe rates applied are impressive: from 782% up to a maximum of 4.563%, configuring a real usurious mechanism to the detriment of people in conditions of serious economic difficulty. The proceeding concluded with the agreed sentence between the defense and the Public Prosecutor, also taking into account the compensation for damage to the injured parties. In detail:

• 7 defendants they received a sentence of 1 year in prison e € 3.000 fine, with suspended sentence;

• 1 defendant was sentenced to 1 year and 6 months of imprisonment e € 3.300 fine, with suspension subject to the performance of 9 months of unpaid work in favor of Municipality of Cremona.

The operation confirms the continued commitment of the Guardia di Finanza, in close collaboration with theJudicial authority, in the fight against illicit activities that damage the economic interests of the State and exploit payment circuits alternative to the banking system.