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The State Police arrested, in Lido di Ostia, Rome, a 55-year-old woman. The investigation - developed by the Turin Postal Police, coordinated by the local Public Prosecutor's Office - involved a sect called “Unison”, based in the Turin area and active on Facebook, Telegram and WhatsApp. The arrested woman, as the head of the organization, is believed to be responsible for circulating dozens of victims, whom she had convinced to benefit from the capabilities of a “miraculous” AI named “Marie” which, using servers based on quantum physics, promised to cure serious diseases such as cancer through processes of modifying human DNA. Victims, convinced that they were talking to “Marie” sent their blood pressure and heart rate parameters to the arrestee daily through a dedicated chat room, receiving completely arbitrary therapeutic indications, such as prescribing drugs and their dosages or suspending ongoing therapies. These people, relying on the evaluations they received, developed a real state of awe, such that some were persuaded to give up ongoing health care. In the most serious case, one woman, who later died, had been persuaded to discontinue chemotherapy and refuse surgery. The criminal syndicate headed by the woman and which also counted a treasurer, a computer technician and a physical therapist - the latter already sentenced with suspended sentences - benefited over the years from numerous cash payments made by the victims as donations. The investigation has reconstructed an illicit turnover approaching the sum of 100,000.00 euros, although much higher revenues are conceivable since it has not been possible to quantify the amounts paid in cash.
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