A shocking investigation has uncovered a massive scam targeting migrants and the state. In Caserta, 17 people, including a nun and a former municipal employee, are under investigation for allegedly orchestrating a multi-million euro scam involving funds earmarked for the integration of asylum seekers.
Among those under investigation are retired former municipal employee Matteo Palmisani, Sister Rita Giarretta, legal representative of the Ursuline Sisters, and several members of the Ex Canapificio social center in Caserta, one of the most important local associations dedicated to welcoming, assisting, and integrating migrants, including through dedicated help desks and inclusion projects.
The investigation, conducted by the Santa Maria Capua Vetere Public Prosecutor's Office, uncovered a corrupt system that allowed two major local associations, Ex Canapificio and Casa Rut, to unlawfully acquire over €6 million.
The organizations allegedly submitted false documentation to obtain funding for training, reception and social inclusion projects, promising services that, according to the accusations, were never actually provided.
At the center of the investigation is a former municipal employee who, taking advantage of his position, allegedly facilitated the funding for the associations involved. The nun, the legal representative of one of the two organizations, was allegedly complicit in the scam, helping to falsify the documentation needed to obtain the funding.
The investigation began with a complaint from a former Ghanaian worker at the Ex Canapificio Social Center, who had reported irregularities within the organization. Subsequent investigations uncovered a disturbing picture, casting a shadow over the management of public funds earmarked for such a vital initiative as migrant integration.
The facts date back to 2017-2018, when the former Canapificio and the Casa Rut community of Sister Rita Giarretta managed the System for the Protection and Assistance of Asylum Seekers (Sprar), now known as Siproimi. These projects aim to integrate migrants who have applied for asylum by having them attend training courses, Italian language courses, or educational institutions, with the aim of integrating them into the Italian social and working environment.
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According to the prosecutor's office (Prosecutor Pierpaolo Bruni, Deputy Investigator Anna Ida Capone), the two associations allegedly submitted false documentation to secure the approval of their application for funding for the 2017-2019 SPRAR system, thus securing the €6 million projects. According to investigators, the support of Palmisani, a now-retired municipal employee, was crucial. Thanks to this documentation, deemed false, the Municipality of Caserta granted the contract as the lead agency for the project. social services.
The social center, 'we are innocent'
"We are confident and confident that we can demonstrate our innocence in the defamatory crimes alleged against us." This is how the Ex Canapificio Social Center commented in a statement on the investigation by the Santa Maria Capua Vetere Public Prosecutor's Office, involving several of its representatives, into an alleged fraud involving migrant integration funds.
"In 2018," the statement continues, "the Public Prosecutor's Office of Santa Maria Capua Vetere decided to open an investigation into some activists from the Ex Canapificio Social Center in Caserta, which at the time managed the SPRAR reception project for refugees and asylum seekers.
The investigations arose following a complaint from a former project worker, who had previously been fired and reported by the Social Center for serious offenses committed within the reception project. The investigations were concluded on September 30, 2019, and on October 24, we were notified of the closure of those investigations," the association emphasizes, thus highlighting the time gap—over five years—between the conclusion of the investigative phase and its formalization through the legally required notice.
"We are proud of the supportive and inclusive community we have had the honor of helping to build in this country and in this city. It's a commitment we will never waver from, one to which we will continue to dedicate ourselves with our passion, our usual enthusiasm, and our tenacity," the statement concludes.
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