An Italian man is reportedly being investigated for potential pension fraud after posing as his dead mother by dressing up as a woman in an alleged attempt to collect her pension.

According to reports, the unidentified 56-year-old man decked out in a blouse and skirt, lipstick and a short brown wig was apprehended by authorities after posing as his late 86-year-old mother, Graziella Dall’Oglio, who passed in 2022, while attempting to renew her Identification card to continue her pension,  Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera reported.

It’s understood that the suspect, who is said to be unemployed, is a former nurse but never reported the passing of his mother; instead opted to continue collecting her €53,000 ($60,000) survivor’s pension from her late husband and income from the family’s real estate and land, the outlet reported.

According to reports, the scheme, which went on for at least two years, began to unravel after on November 16, after a registry office clerk in Borgo Virgilio, about two hours east of Milan, became suspicious of the man’s disguise after he came in to renew his mother’s identity card.

Borgo Virgilio’s Mayor Francesco Aporti, and the police were contacted, with an investigation was launched into the matter, Aporti told Corriere della Sera.

“She looked very much like the woman in the photo on the ID. But there was something that didn’t convince the employee, like the hair on her neck, the heavy makeup, and it looked like beard holes were protruding from the greasepaint,” said Aporti.

“[We] analyzed the video surveillance footage and saw the woman arrive in a car. Alarm bells ringing: the woman doesn’t have a driver’s license …  piece by piece, the picture of this unpleasant situation began to emerge,” he said.

The suspicion was confirmed when the man was called back this week by the registry clerk, creating the opportunity for authorities to swoop down for the apprehension. He later admitted to the plot after the ruse was uncovered.

Further investigation, however, revealed a more shocking revelation as authorities later found the mummified corpse of his mother in his house. Preliminary reports assert her death was by natural causes; however, he faces charges of concealing a body, along with a fraud-related case.