LOCRIDE – Scores of people in this Calabrian city are being investigated for claiming basic income benefits despite being imprisoned mafiosi or living a luxury lifestyle – to the extent of owning a Ferrari in one case, judicial sources said.

 A total of 237 people are allegedly claiming the new basic income unfairly, which has cost 870,000 euros in public funds, Il Fatto Quotidiano reported.

 The basic income initiative, which can also be translated as citizenship income, provides economic help designed to support family earnings. It came into effect March 2019 and is associated with the Five Star Movement party.

 The finance police discovered them during wide-ranging checks on agricultural workers in search of "false labourers,” a phenomenon common in Calabria where people claim to have worked in the fields on paper for long enough to claim unemployment or maternity benefits, La Repubblica reported.

 Of the 237 who were found to have claimed basic income without the right to it between April and Dec. 2019, the finance police found members of the mafia, some of whom were on trial or in jail. Others owned multi-storey villas, luxury apartments and expensive cars, or had failed to file tax returns or declare the presence of spouses and family members.

 All those receiving basic income irregularly have been referred to the judicial authority and to the social security authorities so procedures for withdrawing and recovering the money can begin, Il Fatto Quotidiano reported. They could face years in prison.

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