Criminal association, material falsehood committed by a private individual, and counterfeiting of public seals. These are the crimes for which 37 people are investigated in various capacities who, according to the reconstructions by the Naples Finance Police, would be involved in a scam centered on the issuance of fake degrees. 34 of them are considered recipients of the certificates, while the remaining three are suspected of being members of the association.
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The fake university
The investigations by the Finance Police began following a report from the Ministry of University and Research. The investigative activity uncovered the existence of an organization that, through a website and social media, promoted bachelor’s and master’s degree courses in sociology and tourism sciences.
To access the service, clients paid a fee of 1,500 euros per year. However, the degree was issued by a university not accredited by the Mur nor legally recognized within the Italian university system. Consequently, the certificates had no legal value.
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On the organization’s website, law enforcement then found references to alleged accreditations and registrations with public bodies and registers. The entity also used the logo of the Campania Region with the aim of providing credibility and apparent authority to the issued degrees. Online articles, images, and videos depicting degree and honorary degree award ceremonies were also found. According to what emerged, among the victims of the scam was also Pippo Franco, recipient of an honorary degree in Communication Sciences in 2016. The comedian was unaware of the scam and is not under investigation.
Searches and preventive seizure
The investigations allowed the Finance Police to ascertain the actual non-existence of a real university structure behind the fraudulent organization. During searches at the homes of the suspects, numerous documents related to the issuance of 459 degree certificates between 2004 and 2024 and 49 honorary degrees with the forged regional seal were found.
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