Rome, scams and extortions against the elderly: ten arrested

Another important new operation by the State Police to combat the phenomenon of scams against elderly people.

The investigators of Mobile Squad of the Rome Police Headquarters and III Fidene-Serpentara District, at the end of an intense info-investigative activity, coordinated by the Capitoline Public Prosecutor's Office, in early hours of this morning, with the support of the Naples Mobile Squad, they implemented the precautionary detention measure in prison against 10 people belonging, in various capacities, to a criminal association aimed at committing fraud, robbery and aggravated extortion against the elderly.

During the complex investigations, aimed at breaking up this group, whose members are all of Campania origin, are Numerous scams have emerged that took place between January and July of last year, Besides robberies and extortions against elderly people, all made with classic modus operandi of the "fake nephew" or relatives in financial difficulty; a person made the call to the elderly victim, predicting imminent danger for the family member, avoidable only with the payment of a sum of money or with the delivery of precious items, at that point, the trust of the unfortunate person is stolen, an accomplice showed up at the door of the house, ready to collect the amount requested over the phone; the suspects do they also passed themselves off as post office managers, couriers and/or friends of the relatives to whom they delivered money or jewels.

The agents, during the investigations, have ascertained that the members of the association, based in the Neapolitan capital and more precisely in the Vasto-Arenaccia district, they had well-defined roles, come on "promoters"Ed"organizers” of operations, ai “telephone operators" responsible for establishing contact with the victims, up to to the role of "tax collector" who had the final task of going to the homes of the elderly and collecting money or gold jewellery.

Furthermore, it has been ascertained that the suspects operated mainly in Rome over than in some provinces of the central south including Lucca, Terni, Latina, Naples, Avellino, Salerno and Lecce.

Investigators tracked down and identified the 10 suspects for whom the Judicial Authority has ordered the precautionary measure of detention in prison.

In any case, all the suspects are presumed innocent, in consideration of the current phase of the proceedings or that of the preliminary investigations, until a definitive finding of guilt with an irrevocable sentence.