Gang arrested for salary portability fraud against public servants in Pará and Tocantins
Pará Civil Police carried out arrest and search warrants in Greater Belém against suspects accused of diverting salaries of public servants and retirees through fraudulent salary portability.
Operation Vicário arrests group suspected of diverting public servants' salaries
Pará Civil Police arrested members of a group suspected of committing salary portability fraud against public servants and retirees in the states of Pará and Tocantins on Thursday (5), as reported by g1.globo.com.
The operation, named Operation Vicário, was carried out jointly with Tocantins Civil Police. Three court-authorised warrants were executed in Greater Belém — covering Belém and Ananindeua — and a fourth in Araguaína (TO). The exact number of those detained was not disclosed by the authorities.
According to the investigation, the group obtained personal data from public servants and retirees to open fictitious bank accounts. From these accounts, the suspects requested salary portability without the knowledge of the account holders.
"As soon as the funds were credited, the money was divided among several transfer accounts, a manoeuvre designed to make it difficult to trace and recover the amounts," explained delegate Glaudson Rodrigues, who is responsible for the investigation.
During the searches, three mobile phones were seized. The judiciary authorised the extraction of data from these devices and from the cloud accounts of those under investigation.
Asset seizure and crimes under investigation
At the request of Pará Civil Police, the judiciary granted the seizure and blocking of assets and funds belonging to those under investigation up to the limit of R$ 20,416.06 — an amount estimated as the total loss to the victims.
The suspects may face charges of fraud through electronic means, use of forged documents, money laundering, and criminal association. After standard procedures, those detained were taken to the police station and remain at the disposal of the judiciary, according to delegate Rodrigues.
Pará Civil Police stated that the operation reinforces the corporation's commitment to combating property crimes committed in the cyber environment, in cooperation with civil police forces from other states.
Source: Google News BR — São Paulo