Clone your carthe one he usually used to share with his family, so as to have two perfectly identical vehicleswhich allowed him to circulate using a single insurance policy. The scam, however, was rather ingenious discovered by the Casarano Financial Policein the province of Lecce. A retired former body shop worker is in trouble, trying to succeed in the deception he even equipped the replica of his old Fiat Punto with handcrafted fiberglass plates.
The scam plan
The bodybuilder had purchased the second car from a dismantler, painting it and modifying it until it was identical to the first. The license plates, made of fibreglass, were one of the details that allowed the Financial Police to discover the scam. The license plate cloning, although well done, had some technical shortcomings. During an inspection, the financiers noticed the absence of identification plates in the engine compartment and a bent frame, clear signs of tampering.
The role of the Financial Police
The Financial Police seized the counterfeit vehicle in collaboration with the Judicial Authority, reconstructing the plan that the man had implemented. This case is not isolated; There are other precedents for cloning cars used to avoid insurance costs, but this scam has aroused interest due to its complexity and the craftsmanship of the person involved.
Legal implications and consequences
Italian laws do not allow the use of a single insurance policy for multiple vehicles. Every car must have its own insurance, regardless of ownership or number of vehicles in the household. Solutions such as family insurance, introduced in 2020 with the Tax Decree, allow the merit class to be transferred between members of the same family, but in no case allow the use of a single policy for two active vehicles.
The ingenuity of the coachbuilder and the discovery of the fraud
The former bodybuilder had come up with a plan that seemed almost foolproof, using his skill at repairing and modifying cars to perfectly clone a second vehicle. However, Casarano’s financiers managed to foil the scam attempt thanks to in-depth checks and detailed analyzes of the cloned vehicle. Now the man will have to face the legal consequences of his action.
Insurance scams and risks
Insurance scams like this not only hurt insurance companies, but they also impact consumers. When fraud increases, companies often have to raise premiums to cover losses, thus penalizing honest customers.
