An Italian woman is accused of falsifying no fewer than 17 pregnancies – 12 spontaneous abortions and five false births – over the past 24 years to obtain 110,000 euros ($120,000) in maternity benefits.
Over the past 24 years, 50-year-old Barbara Ioele has had an unusual number of pregnancies, which has led to years of maternity leave and a large sum of state-paid benefits. According to the documents submitted by the woman, she experienced 17 pregnancies, 12 of which unfortunately could not be full-term. The other five babies were allegedly born healthy babies, namely Benedetta, Angelica, Abramo, Letizia and Imagele, but there was no record of them being registered and no one actually saw them. Barbara allegedly gave birth to her youngest child in December last year, but now authorities claim that she has been under surveillance in the late stages of her pregnancy and that they have evidence that she was never pregnant. They also accused her of falsifying all 17 declarations of pregnancy in order to receive more than 110,000 euros in benefits and leave.
Barbara Ioele's case has recently made headlines in Italian national news, and for good reason. Her story is so incredible that most filmmakers consider it over-the-top. Prosecutors allege that the fraud she orchestrated over the past 20 years included birth certificates and other forged documents and doctors' signatures stolen from a Rome clinic, pillows that mimicked a baby's bulge, and rehearsal walks to fake pregnancy.
In February** Dynamic Incentive Program To declare all pregnancies, Barbara Ioele registered stolen medical certificates with forged signatures and received about $120,000 in maternity benefits and years of maternity leave from multiple employers. Incredibly, no one doubted anything, considering that she had reportedly been doing it since 2000, but last year, her luck came to an end when the labor police began monitoring her recent pregnancy, tracking her and collecting evidence that she was not actually pregnant. This initiated an investigation into her previous pregnancy.
Barbara's 55-year-old partner, D**ide Pizzinato, confessed during the interrogation: "I am well aware that my partner is not pregnant. He claimed that he had known about Barbara's fraud since they started their relationship in 2012. He was accused of being an accomplice, but apparently preferred to testify against ioele in exchange for a lenient sentence.
As for Ioele, despite the overwhelming evidence against her – her five children did not exist, forged documents, her partner's testimony, surveillance, and so on – she remained unsightly. To avoid appearing in front of investigators for interrogation, the 50-year-old woman presented two medical certificates – this time genuinely – proving that she was not in good health. Despite this, she still faces prison time on charges of financial fraud and identity fraud.