Investigations are focusing on telephone numbers and money flows to identify those responsible for the fraud against the parish priest of Serdiana, Don Mario Cugusi.
Last week, the priest was contacted by telephone by a fake policeman who reported suspicious activity on his bank account and that of the parish of San Salvatore at the Serdiana branch.
"It was a well-orchestrated scam, based on the portrayal of immediate danger," says Don Mario. "The fake policeman told me about a suspicious request for a €9,800 wire transfer, inviting me to turn on my computer to verify. I logged in with my credentials and actually saw a wire transfer request, receiving instructions to cancel it. I trusted him, so I followed his suggestion to transfer the money to a secure account."
With two instant transfers, for €49,000 and €20,000, the priest transferred the money to an account likely held abroad. Another transfer that Don Mario Cugusi was about to make from his personal account, however, failed. "Fortunately, the transaction was blocked by a bank employee who warned me about the possibility of an instant transfer. I called the fake policeman back, who insisted I complete the transaction. At that point, I went to the police station, where I had a nasty surprise."
The postal police are currently investigating the matter. However, it will be extremely difficult to recover the €69,000 transferred, most likely to hard-to-trace foreign accounts.
"They were the second tranche of regional funding for the redevelopment of places of worship," explains Don Mario, "money that must be collected by the companies responsible for the work within 10 days. The risk now, if we don't meet the deadline, is that we'll have to return them to the Region along with another €60,000 from the first tranche." The parishioners have been informed of the situation: "I've asked my closest friends for a loan, and they're already responding. Some companies in Serdiana have offered their contribution. I hope we can repay the debts to the companies. I trust in everyone's good hearts."
