Arrests in Milan and Naples: Organized Crime Group Targeting the Elderly Exposed

Four individuals were arrested by the Carabinieri of Monza in the provinces of Milan and Naples, accused of belonging to an organized criminal group dedicated to defrauding the elderly or vulnerable in Northern Italy. The alleged crimes were committed, among other places, in Voghera, Alessandria, and Novara as well as in the provinces of Monza and Milan. The bases of the gang, composed of Italians between the ages of 31 and 61, were located between Milan and Naples. This morning, at the conclusion of investigations coordinated by the Prosecutor's Office of Monza, the Carabinieri arrested the four suspects executing a pre-trial detention order issued by the Gip of Monza. The scam artist exploited the victim's age, leveraging the perception of danger and the urgency of intervention to emotionally destabilize them. Once the scammer gained the trust of the interlocutor, they were approached by an emissary (usually pretending to be a legal office employee) to whom they handed over the requested sum. The investigative findings led to the formulation of eight distinct charges related to crimes of criminal association aimed at fraud and aggravated fraud conspiracy. According to the accusatory framework, the perpetrators acted in a stable and organized manner that included, among other things, the division of tasks and roles, the existence of operational bases (one of which was located in an apartment near the Central Station of Milan), and the arrangement of material resources for movements and the execution of fraudulent actions. In particular, the gang included a leader, a 41-year-old resident of Naples (referred to as the 'central operator'), who planned the criminal actions, organized the work in detail, procured SIM cards registered under fictitious names and disposable phones, selected and contacted the victims, coordinated and directed the actions of accomplices who presented themselves at the victims' homes to collect the proceeds of the crime, provided the means for local movements and for transporting the loot from the crime scene to Naples, covered expenses, and paid the participants in the association. There was also the leader's trusted man, a 30-year-old resident of Naples, in charge of keeping in touch with the associates who went to the victim for the commission of the scams, delivering to them disposable phones and vehicles for movements, all sourced from rental companies to hinder the identification of the users of the means, to whom he also provided instructions for the commission of the crimes. Finally, within the gang, there were two operational men, a 47-year-old and a 61-year-old, both domiciled in the Milanese area, who, based on what emerged from the investigative activities, were found to be the associates dedicated to committing the end crimes, as they were tasked with going to the victim presenting themselves under false identity and quality for the collection of the scams' profits. The arrested were taken to their respective reference prisons, at the disposal of the judicial authority that issued the order.