While traveling in a rental car, they defraud an elderly man by posing as lawyers: the stolen goods were hidden in a painting.
In Sassari, the Carabinieri arrested two men from the Naples and lower Lazio regions for aggravated extortion using the "fake Carabiniere - self-styled lawyer" technique.
While traveling in a rental car, they defraud an elderly man by pretending to be lawyers: the stolen goods were hidden in a painting.
On the evening of Thursday, November 20th, in Sassari, the Carabinieri of the Ghilarza Company with the support of the Sassari Company they arrested two men, one already known to the police and the other with a clean criminal record, resident in Campania and lower Lazio.
The two are held responsible for aggravated extortion to the detriment of an 80-year-old man, with the technique of “fake policeman – self-styled lawyer”.
The criminals, landed in Olbia on November 17th with arental car, they would have contacted the victim by telephone pretending to be lawyers, claiming that the man's daughter had been arrested for running over a woman in serious condition.
To “free her”, they would have required a bail of 14.000 euros in money or valuables, to be handed over to an agent.
In shock, the elderly man reportedly handed over to the scammers 5.000 euros in cash and numerous jewels.
The victim had been kept on the phone for several minutes to to prevent him from receiving further calls and to allow criminals to locate the home.
Thanks to timely investigative activities, the Carabinieri have identified the Citroën C3 used by the criminals and, after an observation service lasting more than five hours, they identified the Bed and Breakfast where they were staying, booking rooms with false documents.
The simultaneous break-in into the rooms allowed them to be blocked and all the stolen goods, hidden inside the cavity of a painting.
The provincial commander underlined how this type of extortion represents a particularly serious phenomenon, because it exploits the emotional fragility of older people leveraging fear and presumed judicial consequences.
Investigations confirm a high level of organization, with planned transfers from the Italian peninsula and targeted selection of the most vulnerable victims.
The arrested were associated with the Sassari–Bancali prison, available to the Public Prosecutor's Office.
Reproduction reserved © Copyright La Milano
