Cops Seize Homes, Land And EUR 350,000 Of Salary Paid To Fake Teacher Who Conned Schools For 20 Years
Police have seized EUR 350,000 as the proceeds of crime that was paid to a fake Italian teacher who allegedly forged her degree to get a job teaching in local schools for over 20 years.
The arrest of the fake teacher and the seizure of her cash and assets took place in the province of Varese in the northern Italian region of Lombardy on a recent date, and the Italian police say that she had never even enrolled at the university from which she claims to have graduated.
The woman, who has not been named, but who is 50 years old, was investigated and apprehended by the Guardia di Finanza (Financial Police).
The local judiciary also ordered the preventive seizure of approximately EUR 350,000 (GBP 292,000), which they believe stems from the woman’s allegedly ill-gotten salaries, unemployment benefits and severance pay.
The authorities said this included EUR 166,000 (GBP 139,000) that they had found in the woman’s bank accounts.
The police also seized eight plots of land, a nine-room apartment, two garages, a motorcycle and a car in the raid, to cover the remainder of the proceeds.
The suspect had reportedly been working as a supply teacher at schools in the province of Varese on year-long contracts and continually since 2000.
She reportedly claimed she had graduated with 110 cum laude, the highest possible mark in the Italian university system.
It is currently unclear if the woman has been formally charged. No court dates had been announced at the time of writing.
