An Italian man has been caught in a bizarre attempt to impersonate his deceased mother to illegally claim her pension benefits.

The man, who had been a nurse but was currently unemployed, went to great lengths to disguise himself. He donned lipstick, a blouse reminiscent of the 1970s, and a pearl necklace to visit the Registry Office in Borgo Virgilio, a small town in northern Italy.

His objective was to renew the identity card of his late mother, Graziella Dall’Oglio. However, Ms. Dall’Oglio had passed away three years prior, yet her son continued to collect her pension, amassing nearly €53,000, approximately $94,000, as reported by the Italian newspaper, Corriere Della Sera.

The incident has drawn comparisons to the 1993 film, Mrs. Doubtfire, starring the late Robin Williams, earning it the moniker of the “Mrs. Doubtfire scandal.”

It has now been called the “Mrs. Doubtfire scandal” after the 1993 hit movie starring the late Robin Williams.

In a grim turn, when authorities busted the 56-year-old man and searched the home of his mother, they found her mummified body.

Dall’oglio had not been heard from in years, according to reports.

The mayor of the town, Francesco Aporti, told Corriere Della Sera the scam was exposed after an employee at the registry office noticed some strange things when “Graziella” came to renew her identification, and warned the mayor and police.

“[He was] wearing a suit with a long skirt, lipstick on his lips, nail polish on his hands, jewellery around his neck and hands, old-fashioned earrings,” Aporti said.

“But that neck, upon closer inspection, was a bit too thick, and even the wrinkles were strange, the skin on his hands didn’t look like the 85-year-old he claimed to be.

“And his voice, feminine yes, but occasionally a few masculine notes escaped.”

After comparing photos between the real Dall’Oglio and those of her son posing as her, they realised they had been fooled, and their investigations revealed her son had been filing regular tax returns.

To bring him in, they called the son and said Dall’Oglio needed to present herself to the office to complete the identification process; once the son arrived dressed up as his mother, they took him to a police station, where he admitted his scheme.

They found the body of the mother in the home, with a statement from Italian police saying the body had been wrapped in bedsheets and a sleeping bag.

“She probably died of natural causes, but that will be established by a postmortem,” the mayor added.

“It’s a very, very sad story, certainly one of great loneliness.”