Brazilian detained in Braga for fraud using fake fundraising campaign for sick child
A 36-year-old Brazilian citizen created a fraudulent campaign using AI to divert donations intended for a 9-year-old boy with a rare disease. He was detained by the Judicial Police in Braga.
Fake solidarity fraud damaged thousands of donors in the name of boy with rare disease
A 36-year-old Brazilian citizen was detained by the Judicial Police in Braga, following a fraudulent charity campaign that exploited the situation of Rodrigo, a nine-year-old boy from Amares who suffers from a rare debilitating disease. The suspect appeared before a judge on Saturday.
According to Correio da Manhã, the man created a fake campaign based on a legitimate campaign launched by the child's parents, replicating the original appeal using Artificial Intelligence tools. The fraud deceived thousands of people, who made donations believing they were directly supporting the child's treatment.
The amounts obtained illicitly were then concealed by the suspect across several national bank accounts, foreign accounts and cryptocurrencies. The operation was set up under the cover of a financing company, from which the defendant operated.
It was Rodrigo's parents who reported the case to the authorities, after detecting the existence of the parallel campaign and realising that third parties were raising donations in their son's name without any authorisation or connection to the family.
Source: Correio da Manhã