Fake carabinieri and lawyers arrested for trying to scam elderly woman after son’s “accident”

Last Updated: May 2, 2024

Fake lawyers and fake police officers working together to scam elderly people. This is what the real carabinieri discovered when they arrested three individuals in Naples.
The three had targeted a 72-year-old woman from Messina. They had set up a central operation in an apartment with a call center. They used the excuse of a car accident caused by the woman’s son and requested money to clear his name.
The carabinieri stationed outside the apartment needed a reason to enter and used deception. They tricked the scammers with a carousel of lies, pretending to be neighbors upset about the smell of marijuana. When the door opened, they made their move and arrested Saverio Ianniello, Domenico De Martino, and Roberto Messina.
Inside the apartment, they found a small call center dedicated to scamming the elderly. They confiscated 10 cell phones, over 1,600 euros in cash, a notebook with details of ongoing scams, 4 intact SIM cards, and one broken one thrown out the window during the raid. They also seized a gram of marijuana.
The three are now under house arrest and will face charges of attempted fraud. The victim, a 72-year-old woman from a small village in the province of Messina, was targeted by the scammers.