Couple arrested for fraud in João Pessoa accumulates 20 victims and R$ 400,000 in losses
Ten new victims came forward to police following the arrest of a couple suspected of frauds at a bakery in Mangabeira. Detective will request emergency removal of names from Serasa.
Ten new victims of couple suspected of fraud come forward to João Pessoa police station
Ten new victims of a couple investigated for fraud and falsifying documents presented themselves to the Civil Police of João Pessoa, bringing the total number of confirmed victims to 20, as reported by g1.globo.com on Tuesday (3). The estimated losses caused by the couple have reached R$ 400,000.
Detective Lucas Sá, responsible for the investigation, confirmed the increase in the number of victims in an interview with TV Cabo Branco. According to Sá, police will request the emergency removal of the victims' names from the Serasa delinquency list.
"All of these victims will be included in the investigation and what we are going to request now are the most urgent measures. There are people who had their entire income, their daily subsistence, compromised, and they are even blacklisted on Serasa, they cannot even hire a credit card to support their family because of these frauds. We will inform the Courts of these facts today and request the appropriate measures," the detective declared.
The couple — a 33-year-old woman and her 31-year-old boyfriend — were arrested in flagrante on 23 October, but released at a custody hearing. The names of the suspects were not disclosed by police.
According to the investigation, the woman held the position of head of the human resources department at a bakery in the Mangabeira neighbourhood, an establishment with more than 20 employees. The scheme consisted of opening bank accounts and contracting credit cards in the names of the workers themselves.
To carry out the frauds, the suspect asked employees to send facial photographs via mobile phone, claiming that the images would be used for time and attendance records. With the photographs in hand, she opened accounts and contracted credit cards remotely. The physical cards were sent to the boyfriend's address, who was aware of the frauds and was also arrested in flagrante.
In addition to court requests for the removal of names from the delinquency list, the Civil Police reported that they will continue investigating the case to verify whether there are other victims who have not yet been identified.
Source: Google News BR — São Paulo