Dozens of searches by the Guardia di Finanza have been carried out in recent days throughout Cagliari, as well as in various other centers in the metropolitan city, as part of an investigation into an alleged gang specializing in fraud involving fake judicial auctions. The search warrant was signed by Deputy Prosecutor Enrico Lussu, in charge of a series of files consolidated following complaints from several victims, who has now hypothesized a criminal conspiracy aimed at the fraud.
The suspects
Officers from the Provincial Command's Economic and Financial Police Unit, coordinated by Colonel Paolo Pettine, conducted searches of the homes and offices of approximately ten suspects, including a Cagliari City Council employee, a dispatcher, and a traffic policeman. The alleged instigators and organizers of the criminal conspiracy—according to the Prosecutor's Office—are Sabrina Schirru Giacomini (daughter of the late magician Giancarlo) and Gian Paolo Pili, along with those identified by the Prosecutor as the procurers of potential victims and perpetrators of the scams: Marco Pirina, Vitaliano Lecis, Corrado Fresu, Francesco Mostallino, Giuseppe Scibilia, Gregorio Farris, and Roberto Pappacoda. Alessandro Gugliandolo, believed to be the insider, is also believed to be among them. Other suspects have reportedly been registered in the last few hours, following the searches. There are approximately fifteen in total. The Municipality and the Court, obviously, are completely uninvolved in the matter.
The scam scheme
According to the financial police's reconstruction, after identifying a potential victim to whom they could propose the deal, the group allegedly offered auction purchases of luxury homes and cars at very advantageous prices. The gang allegedly passed off these properties and assets as being for sale by the Court of Cagliari. To convince the victims of the seriousness of the procedure, some suspects also posed as judicial officials, displaying false documents from the Enforcement Office, including the names of the judges in charge. The scam was completed by appointments arranged at the Palace of Justice and fake notary offices rented specifically to convince the victims to deposit tens of thousands of euros into accounts available to the gang. In some cases, according to rumors, some even deposited as much as two hundred thousand euros.
The complaints
The investigation, which in December saw about fifteen files distributed to various magistrates, all of which were then assigned to prosecutor Lussu, concerns a long series of scams that allegedly targeted people seeking to purchase homes or luxury cars (Audis, BMWs, etc.) at very advantageous prices through judicial auctions. These assets, however, turned out to be a mirage. For example, one of the scams allegedly involved the fake auction of a house in Poetto for €100,000. The plaintiffs allegedly gave the alleged scammers deposits amounting to thousands of euros, only to discover that the documents they had consulted through a phantom agent were completely false.
The suicides
The Prosecutor's Office is also investigating a real estate agent who allegedly committed suicide, crushed by debt, and who, before his death, left a message denouncing the fake auctions. The investigation in this case has been assigned to Prosecutor Mario Leo. Another woman is also said to have attempted suicide, but was saved at the last minute by a family member. For the time being, the two incidents are not being charged to the current suspects.
