The Carabinieri of the Operational Unit of the Compagnia di Roma Trionfale have collected serious circumstantial elements regarding the existence of a criminal association based in Naples and headed by members of a family dedicated to committing fraud and extortion against the elderly, in Lazio but also in other Italian regions
The Carabinieri of the Provincial Command of Rome, in the province of Naples, supported by the territorially competent Carabinieri commands, carried out precautionary measures, issued by the investigating judge of Rome, against 17 people, 7 in prison and 10 under house arrest, of which 13 suspected of belonging to an organization dedicated to fraud and extortion against the elderly and the other 4 of having helped them carry out the attacks. The base was in Naples: the scammers used phone calls to lure victims who reached Lazio and other Italian regions with rental cars. A total of 80 crimes committed in the provinces of Rome, Naples, Latina and Viterbo, between September 2022 and March 2023.
The scam
Posing as a postal worker, insurer, lawyer or policeman, the “telephone operator” said that a family member had to pay off the debt to collect a
package or that it had caused a car accident, that the insurance had expired and that, to “fix” things, it was necessary to hand over money or jewellery. An accomplice would later pick them up from the victims’ homes, and only hours later, speaking with the son or grandson in question, would they discover the scam. The suspects were divided into various groups made up of two people and left Naples every day in rented cars.
Also found instruction manual
The victims were randomly chosen through searches done on the internet or on the white pages, contacted by “telephone operators” and then reached by “couriers”. During the searches, which are still ongoing, the military also found an instruction manual with a detailed description of the things that the “telephone operator” had to say to the victims as well as hundreds of telephone cards, dozens of mobile phones and a large quantity of jewellery.
