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May 16, 2020 The evidence of the scam the financiers of Ancona found them right on the "18App" platform where students must register for the culture bonus. There are 2,503 'new 18 year olds', residing in 14 Italian regions, who took advantage of the 'culture bonus' between 2017 and 2018 to buy electronic devices online - including playstations - instead of books, digital music, concert tickets, museums, exhibitions, fairs, theatrical performances, cinema, concerts, as required by law. Fraud of around € 1 million

The investigations lasted 8 months after a report from the Special Unit for Public Spending and Community Fraud Repression.

Complaints and accusations
Two people were reported: a 72-year-old trader and his 42-year-old partner, who will have to answer for the crime of undue perception of contributions paid to private subjects to the detriment of the State, which provides for imprisonment of up to 3 years.

The fines
The over two thousand students who made illegal purchases and who had to register on the '18App' platform, agreeing to purchase only the goods for which credit could be spent, now risk paying a fine equal to three times the amount paid for the unauthorized purchase, which, however, can also be paid in 30 monthly installments.

The system
The heart of the scam is a company from Jesi, managed by a 72-year-old woman, already active in the IT sector, retailing electronic devices. Both at the store and on the online site, the woman explained how to get around the legislation that provides that the bonus of 500 euros for 18-year-olds is used exclusively to buy cultural products.

According to the surveys, more than two thousand 'neo-eighteen', through the system, would have purchased playstations, latest generation smartphones, portable cameras, personal computers: products that, according to the provisions of the 'culture bonus', could not be bought.

Word of mouth
Information on the possibility of using the 500 euros 'differently' had spread among students, residing in 14 Italian regions but most in the Marche, through word of mouth, even with the use of the most popular social networks.

Seizures
In requesting a refund of the bonus on a monthly basis, the trader declared that he had sold goods permitted by law, such as recorded music, which the investigators never found to have been purchased. The financiers, authorized by the investigating magistrate of Ancona, carried out a preventive seizure of assets for about 800 thousand euros, half of which in liquid identified in a bank safe deposit box and on various current accounts. Blocked by the Ministry a refund of another 10 thousand euros that had been requested by the trader.