Genoa, 14 March(AKI) - A fake priest has been accused of performing exorcisms and convincing an elderly woman to pay him 40,000 euros in the northern Italian city of Genoa.

Italian police said the alleged exorcist targeted the woman after meeting her in a church in the city's historical centre.

In a report by the postal and telecommunications police, he allegedly told the woman his name was 'Father Filippo'.

He also said that he had contact with bishops in the Vatican that were fighting a plot against 'obscure presences'.

'Father Filippo', who comes from the southern city of Vibo Valentia in the region of Calabria, convinced the woman to help him so he could carry out a long-distance exorcism and he needed more money.

The fake priest was caught when an investigations unit from Italy's postal and telecommunications police noticed payments to various credit cards by the elderly woman.

He has been charged with taking advantage of the woman and her "mental incapacity".

Police said the woman reportedly lives alone and and has a history of mental illness.

The fake priest is a middle-aged man who is understood to have a record as a con man and a previous offender.