A bizarre incident unfolded in a Rio suburb where a Brazilian woman, Erika de Souza Vieira Nunes, was arrested after attempting to use her deceased uncle to secure a bank loan. Local media, O DIA, reported that Nunes wheeled her uncle into a branch of Itaú Bank, attempting to have him sign for a 17,000 reais ($3,250) loan.
Suspicion arose when Nunes entered the bank with the elderly man slouched in a wheelchair. She was seen on security footage trying to manipulate his hand and head to sign the loan documents. During the interaction, she was heard coaxing the unresponsive man, “Uncle, you need to sign. If you don’t sign, there’s no way, because I can’t sign for you.”
Bank staff grew concerned due to the man’s unresponsiveness and alerted local ambulance services. Upon their arrival, medical professionals confirmed the man, identified as 68-year-old Paulo Roberto Braga, had been dead for several hours before even arriving at the bank.
Nunes was subsequently arrested on suspicion of theft by fraud and violating a corpse. According to Brazil’s national newspaper Correio Braziliense, her defense claims Braga died while at the bank, asserting they have witnesses to support their case.
However, forensic analysis indicated Braga likely died earlier that day from respiratory issues and heart failure, and the positioning of blood clots suggested he died lying down, not in a seated position as found. The ongoing investigation has not dismissed the involvement of other individuals in this grim attempt at fraud.
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