A Spanish woman who claimed to have lost her ability to speak and has been receiving disability benefits for more than ten years has been revealed as a fraud by a private investigator.
The woman was assaulted by a customer in 2003 while working at a supermarket in Andalucía, Spain. A diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder and a purported speech impairment resulted from the incident. She was granted a lifelong disability pension by the Social Security office based on these results. Her employer’s insurance provider was ultimately responsible for the payments, though, because the incident happened at work.
The insurance company became concerned and conducted a more thorough inquiry after discovering multiple inconsistencies in her records during a standard case review years later. A private investigator was hired by the company a few years ago to surreptitiously monitor the woman. The results were shocking. Even though she claimed to be mute the woman was spotted chatting openly in public.
