Man arrested for collecting $175,000 in pension benefits by pretending to be blind for more than 20 years

If, for whatever reason, you had to pretend you were blind, how long do you think you could keep it up? Probably not as long as one partially sighted man in Castellammare di Stabia, near Naples, Italy, who illegally claimed benefits for more than 20 years until it was discovered he had been lying to the authorities about his visual impairment.

“Blind” man commits fraud over two decades

The man and his wife collected approximately $175,000 in disability and “accompaniment” benefits over two decades. After an initial review by INPS, Italy’s social security agency, triggered by the Guardia di Finanza (the Italian financial police), failed to uncover their secret, the couple continued their deception.

They submitted false medical documentation, including a forged ophthalmology report from 2010, which deceived a new medical commission that went on to confirm the man’s false diagnosis.

Surveillance reveals the blind truth

Doubts about the man’s condition lingered, and another investigation was eventually launched. Surveillance operations and undercover observations showed him using ATMs, counting change precisely at supermarkets, and moving around crowded public places without assistance.

An ophthalmologist later ruled that he showed no real limitations consistent with total blindness, leading investigators to conclude that his long-standing claim had been fraudulent all along.

Couple placed under house arrest

Following the discovery, the man was charged with aggravated fraud to obtain public funds and falsifying public documents, and he and his wife have both been placed under house arrest. Authorities also seized about $145,000 worth of assets last year during the first phase of the investigation.

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