A 59-year-old woman from Naples was sentenced to two years in prison and a fine of 600 euros for a scam involving a gold buyer in Ravenna. The sentence, issued yesterday morning, also includes the payment of a provisional sum of 2,000 euros to the owner of the scammed business, who had filed a civil action with the protection of the lawyer Enrico Ferri. The woman, defended by the lawyer Mirella Baldascino, was acquitted on one of the charges of fraud, but found guilty on the others.
The story dates back to November 2020, when the defendant showed up for the first time at the gold buyer, selling a pendant weighing approximately 9 grams for 270 euros. The purchase was made by the wife of the legal representative of the business, who had carried out the usual authenticity checks and asked questions about the provenance of the jewel. A few days later, the woman returned to the shop with another jewel weighing almost 11 grams, which she had sold for 327 euros. On the same day, the woman’s husband showed up at the gold buyer with other jewels. However, the owner of the business found the objects suspicious and decided not to buy them.
: Suspicious of the repeated visits and the quality of the jewelry, and after discovering that the sellers were a husband and wife, the manager had carried out further checks on the items purchased on November 4 and 12, cutting them and discovering that they were only gold-plated. In December, the same customer had returned, attempting to sell another fake jewelry item – a ring and a pair of earrings, declaring that they were 750-carat gold – but the owner, who was present in the shop, had turned her away and decided to notify the police due to the scams she had already suffered. Those jewelry items, which were later seized, also contained a lower percentage of gold than declared. On that occasion, when the owner of the gold-buying shop had reprimanded her (“you’re really brave to come back here…”), the woman had asked to leave, complaining of sudden illness, and had also gotten rid of a 20-euro note that turned out to be fake, which is why she was also charged with possession of counterfeit banknotes. During the abbreviated trial, the public prosecutor had requested a sentence of one year and eight months, as well as a fine of 450 euros. However, Judge Antonella Guidomei, despite the acquittal on one of the charges, issued a more severe sentence. The case highlights the importance of carefully verifying the provenance and authenticity of the jewelry purchased, to avoid falling into scams that can seriously damage commercial activities.
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