https://feeds.thelocal.com/ Read the latest news and views from Italy in English en-us news@thelocal.com (TheLocal) webmaster@thelocal.com (TheLocal) TheLocal RSS Feed An 80-year-old woman who has claimed welfare benefits in Italy for the past 12 years is being investigated after the authorities found she had a Swiss bank account containing one million euros, according to reports. https://www.thelocal.it/20160901/elderly-italian-on-benefits-stashed-a-million-in-swiss-bank Thu, 01 Sep 2016 14:26:23 +0200 elderly-italian-on-benefits-stashed-a-million-in-swiss-bank A couple from Treviso, both in their 60s, are accused of getting legally separated just to cash in on state subsidies. https://www.thelocal.it/20160629/italy-couple-accused-of-getting-separated-to-cash-in-on-benefits Wed, 29 Jun 2016 17:49:06 +0200 italy-couple-accused-of-getting-separated-to-cash-in-on-benefits Two people claiming a total of €120,000 in disability benefits for total blindness have been arrested in southern Italy after they were spotted engaging in normal activities such as driving, using a touch screen phone and moving around without assistance. https://www.thelocal.it/20150303/blind-claimant-filmed-driving-and-using-smartphones Tue, 03 Mar 2015 13:25:00 +0100 blind-claimant-filmed-driving-and-using-smartphones Italy spends more than any other OECD country on pensions, while overall the government is the fifth-biggest social spender in terms of GDP, new figures show. https://www.thelocal.it/20141125/italy-among-the-oecd-biggest-spenders-on-pensions Tue, 25 Nov 2014 16:02:00 +0100 italy-among-the-oecd-biggest-spenders-on-pensions An Italian man who claimed thousands of euros in disability benefits for over 15 years for “total blindness” has been reported to police after he was caught partaking in normal activities such as crossing a busy road unaided and driving a moped. https://www.thelocal.it/20140813/blind-italian-man-caught-driving-moped Wed, 13 Aug 2014 13:54:00 +0200 blind-italian-man-caught-driving-moped A man in Rome was caught claiming his dead mother's pension after post office workers became suspicious that her apparent longevity was too good to be true. https://www.thelocal.it/20140407/benefit-fraudster-nabbed-by-mums-longevity-2 Mon, 07 Apr 2014 18:46:00 +0200 benefit-fraudster-nabbed-by-mums-longevity-2 Two Sicilian men who falsely claimed they were blind managed to swindle €230,000 in state benefits, before getting caught shopping and driving cars, police said on Monday. https://www.thelocal.it/20140303/blind-fraudsters-filmed-shopping-and-driving Mon, 03 Mar 2014 17:59:00 +0100 blind-fraudsters-filmed-shopping-and-driving Police in the southern Campania region have seized assets worth €108 million from a criminal network accused of creating around 10,000 bogus jobs in order to claim benefits from the Italian state. https://www.thelocal.it/20131129/benefit-fraudsters-create-10000-fake-jobs Fri, 29 Nov 2013 16:59:00 +0100 benefit-fraudsters-create-10000-fake-jobs More foreigners are now claiming unemployment benefits in Italy as thousands have lost jobs within the past couple of years. https://www.thelocal.it/20131029/more-foreigners-claiming-italian-benefits Tue, 29 Oct 2013 18:38:00 +0100 more-foreigners-claiming-italian-benefits A woman in the southern region of Calabria has been arrested for allegedly tricking the social services out of €45,000, by claiming her dead mother's benefits for eight years. https://www.thelocal.it/20130925/benefit-fraudster-claims-dead-mothers-45000 Wed, 25 Sep 2013 16:55:00 +0200 benefit-fraudster-claims-dead-mothers-45000 A 64-year-old man from Bari lived off disability benefits for 30 years by claiming he was blind. https://www.thelocal.it/20130719/blind-bari-man-claims-benefits-for-30-years Fri, 19 Jul 2013 11:12:00 +0200 blind-bari-man-claims-benefits-for-30-years