A woman in Italy has been jailed for one year and six months, and the reason is shocking. 50-year-old Barbara Loele has been faking her pregnancies and miscarriages in order to get maternity benefits. It is said that Loele collected more than 110,000 euros (Rs 98,25,200) as maternity allowance.
She claimed having five children and 12 miscarriages in the period of 24 years, got benefits for the same, and some time off work, as reported by Metro, citing local press.
Loele delivered a baby in December last year, according to the claims she made. However, the police were constantly keeping an eye on her throughout the 9 months pregnancy period, which turned out to be fake.
Out of her 17 claimed pregnancies, Loele said that only 5 of them were carried to term.
The prosecutors informed that the fraud was made possible by the theft of birth certificates and other documents from a clinic in Rome.
According to the reports, Loele was using a pillow to create a baby bump and walked like a pregnant lady to make it seem real.
Davide Pizzinato, Loele's husband knew about the whole act she was putting up; and told the police that she was never pregnant. Davide testified against her in order to receive a lighter punishment, as he was also charged as her accomplice in the fraud.
However, Loele still stands strong on the claim that she was actually pregnant and currently has five children.
