Gina Lollobrigida and personal assistant Andrea Piazzolla in Rome in January this year
Hollywood film legend Gina Lollobrigida has been conned out of millions of euros of assets and property by her manager, prosecutors have alleged.
The Italian Sixties movie siren, once described as ‘the most beautiful woman in the world’, was reportedly defrauded out of three luxury properties near Rome’s Spanish Steps and a £250,000 Ferrari sports car.
Andrea Piazzolla is accused of using bank accounts in his parents’ names to transfer thousands of euros in a series of transactions from the film star’s fortune.
Prosecutors believe he should face fraud charges as her family accuse the 32-year-old of isolating the actress to empty her bank accounts, according to Italian media.
Lollobrigida previously stated Piazzolla has been working in her best interests and denied he was defrauding her when similar accusations were made by the family earlier this year.
Magistrates found a Ferrari F12 inspired by the old Testa Rossa was bought by the former chauffeur, local reports state.
A house and two small hotels owned by Lollobrigida near the Piazza di Spagna were sold and the company’s accounts were emptied between 2013 and 2018, according to court documents reported by Il Messaggero.
After starting out as Lollobrigida’s driver at the age of 24, Piazzolla became close to the star and was promoted to the 92-year-old’s personal assistant, then moved on to be her handyman, then recently worked as her manager.
Over the years there has been much speculation about the nature of the pair’s relationship as they are often pictured at award’s ceremonies arm-in-arm.
Andrea Piazzolla pictured in a social media image alongside a luxury sports car. He has been accused of defrauding his wealthy employer out of millions of euros
Gina Lollobrigida during her movie-making hayday (left) and (right) at the Italian National Cinema Awards Show, in Siracusa, Sicily, on Sunday
The star has previously suggested in an interview with Il Corriere that Piazzolla accompanied her on foreign trips to replace her estranged son, Milko Skofic Jr, as he could speak English.
According to local media, Piazzolla allegedly gained control of a company, Vissi D’arte, that manages the actress’s assets.
In July 2015, Piazzolla allegedly sold three apartments in the San Sebastianello area, behind Piazza di Spagna, for more than €2 million.
Still accessing the company’s accounts, he also allegedly bought through wire transfers and cash withdrawals luxury cars for over €800,000.
These included the Ferrari for €310,000 and a Ford Shelby GT for nearly €100,00, which according to investigators, the suspect then quickly resold and paid the proceeds to his parents’ bank accounts.
Eleonora Fini, a prosecutor in Rome, is reportedly determined to bring Piazzolla to trial for ‘taking advantage of her mental state’ after the complaint was made by Milko, who is also known as Andrea.
Around 15 transactions for the purchase or lease of luxury cars and motorcycle are alleged to have been made.
Gina Lollobrigida in the 1959 film, Solomon and Sheba. Her manager Andrea Piazzolla has been accused of stealing millions of euros from her in assets
Gina Lollobrigida was a star of the silver screen. She is pictured (left) in Solomon and Sheba in 1959 and (right) in 1958
These allegations come two years after her son Milko failed in a bid to get a court to remove Piazzolla from her life and have her estate run by an administrator as she was in a ‘state of vulnerability’.
In 2014 Lollobrigida won a bitter legal battle over her property empire with her only child, who claimed she had fallen under the sway of young admirers.
He accused the manager of leading a life of luxury at the expense of his mother by selling her assets to fund his luxury lifestyle.
Milko tried to put her under guardianship as she surrounded herself with younger men, according to Italian media.
But a judge in Rome ruled she was capable of running her own finances and the move was rejected.
She told Il Corriere earlier this year: ‘My relationship with my son has stopped for years and not my fault. It’s not Andrea who keeps him away, it’s me. With me, there’s Andrea, because Milko isn’t there.
‘I do not allow anyone to make my business management decisions. Life is mine, I’ve been working since I was 18 and I’ve always looked after myself.’
Gina Lollobrigida during a photoshoot in Los Angeles in January this year (left) and (right) during her film career
Film icon Gina Lollobrigida was described as ‘the most beautiful woman in the world’ during her 1950s and 60s hayday
A forensic psychiatrist in 2017 found she was mentally capable but ‘narcissistic, obsessive and compulsive’, making her perception of reality ‘weakened’.
Three years ago Lollobrigida accused her former toyboy lover, Javier Rigau y Rafols, of conning her into marriage in an attempt to inherit her £35 million estate.
She was with the 58-year-old for over 20 years and the couple reportedly planned to get married, but the ceremony never took place after the star called it off.
Gina Lollobrigida (left), met Javier Rigau y Rafols (right) at a party in Monte Carlo in the 1980s
But despite splitting up in 2007, the Spanish businessman managed to marry her by proxy in 2010 without her knowledge by using an impersonator to stand in as Lollobrigida at the service in Barcelona.
She only discovered the marriage in 2013 and Rigau was charged with fraud and forgery.
Although Lollobrigida’s last of her more than 60 films was over 20 years ago, the film icon is considered a symbol of Italian cinema.
She was one of the most popular movie stars in the 1950s and 1960s and along with her rival, Sofia Loren, the pair are a small number of Italian stars who also made a career in Hollywood.
Lollobrigida starred in such films as The Hunchback of Notre Dame in 1956, Strange Bedfellows alongside Rock Hudson in 1965 and Good Evening, Ms Campbell in 1968.
She also starred in Trapeze and Woman of Rome, and now splits her time between a villa in Monte Carlo, a mansion in Rome and another property in Sicily.
After acting Lollobrigida started a career as a photographer and sculptor in the 1980s.