JUE 28 DE NOVIEMBRE DE 2024 - 19:40hs.
Fake winner of Lotofácil

Justice condemns six for US$ 13.7m fraud against Caixa lottery

Brazil’s Federal Court convicted Márcio Xavier de Lima and five other people for a millionaire coup against a Caixa de Tocantinópolis agency in the north of the state in December 2013. According to the Public Ministry, Xavier posed as the winner of Lotofácil and managed to take just over R$ 73 million (US$ 13.7m) from the bank. He would have had the help of the then manager of the agency to complete the fraud and four other people to launder and hide the money.

Alberto Nunes Tugeiro Filho, Antônio Rodrigues Filho, Ernesto Vieira de Carvalho Neto, Márcio Xavier de Lima, Robson Pereira do Nascimento, Talles Henrique de Freitas Cardoso will serve sentences ranging from 5 to 13 years in prison, in addition to paying fines. All of them were denounced in 2014 for falsifying a public document, using a false document, laundering assets and values, embezzlement and forming a criminal organization.

Paulo André Pinto Tugeiro was also indicted, but the Judiciary understood that there was not enough evidence to punish him. According to the Federal Public Ministry (MPF), in November 2013, the then manager of the Tocantinópolis (TO) agency Robson do Nascimento received the proposal from some members of the gang to improperly receive the lottery prize.

Even on vacation, Robson used his passwords to access the bank's system and receive a false Asset Accrual Declaration from Márcio Xavier Gomes de Souza. This document is issued by Caixa due to the payment of the winning ticket.

However, Márcio de Souza's true identity was Márcio Xavier de Lima. He used his counterfeit identity card, issued by the Ceará Public Security Secretariat, to open an account at the unit.

Once the transfer was made, Robson do Nascimento started to unlink the money from the fraud by making 15 transfers to nine other accounts. Most of the amount, R$ 42 million (US$ 7.9m), was sent to the account of the company Phama Transportes, managed by Alberto Tugeiro and whose trusted person is Antônio Rodrigues Filho. Of this total, R$ 32 million (US$ 6m) was later transferred to Talles Henrique's account and spread to several other accounts in smaller transactions.

In an attempt to spread the money, Antônio Rodrigues bought seven zero km vehicles, all registered in São Paulo. Ernesto de Carvalho acquired an aircraft.

Source: UOL