Italian Woman Jailed for Faking 17 Pregnancies to Misappropriate Rs 98 Lakh Maternity Benefit

A 50-year-old Italian woman Barbara Loele was charged with fraud and sentenced to 1 year and 6 months in prison by an Italian court for faking 17 pregnancies to misappropriate state benefits for maternity.

According to Metro, Loele falsely claimed that she had 12 miscarriages and 5 children over the period of 24 years. For these fake pregnancies, she received around 110,000 euros (approximately Rs 98 lakh) as maternity benefits. Added to it, she also availed holidays from work because of her fake pregnancies.

According to Italian media, Loele committed this fraud by stealing birth certificates from a clinic in Rome and other forged documents.

Ms Loele claimed to have delivered her latest child last December. But police investigation proved that the 50-year-old was using pillows to give herself the appearance of a baby bump. , as well as walking as if carrying the additional weight of an unborn child.

Loele’s partner Davide Pizzinato confessed to the cops that he knew “full well” that she wasn’t pregnant. He testified against Loele in exchange for a lighter sentence.