Fake auction scam results in the conviction of six people in Santa Catarina

Criminals used fake websites and defrauded the TJSC logo to attract victims

The 4th Criminal Court of the Capital district convicted three men and three women for carrying out the fake auction scam in cities in Santa Catarina, Rio Grande do Sul, Rio de Janeiro and Minas Gerais. To attract and mislead victims, the defendants created false auction websites with the logo of the Court of Justice of Santa Catarina (TJSC). The convictions include the crimes of embezzlement through electronic fraud, money laundering and criminal association.

Between January 2022 and August 2023, the group of fraudsters caused a total of R$18 million in losses to the victims, in Santa Catarina alone. In Florianópolis, a man bought a Duster car for R$54,800 and, after passing on the amount, never had contact with the fake auctioneers again. After being collected, the amounts were spread across countless bank accounts and took different routes to conceal their origin and nature, until they reached the hands of the gang’s leaders.

In the sentence, the sentences of the six members totaled 48 years in prison. Each received a reprimand of eight years’ imprisonment in an initial closed regime, plus payment of a fine and compensation for damages in favor of the victims.

Three will remain in prison even in the event of an appeal, two have been in an uncertain location since the pre-trial detention was ordered, and one person has been released and will therefore be able to appeal the sentence. Assets seized during the process without proof of lawful origin will serve to alleviate at least part of the victims’ losses.

Carried out by the Institutional Intelligence and Security Center (NIS/TJSC) in conjunction with the DEIC/PCSC Fraud Office, the police work began after reports of the criminal use of the Santa Catarina Judiciary logo on fake auction sites.

The investigation also relied on data from reports from the Financial Activities Control Council (Coaf), a federal government body linked to the Ministry of Economy, whose main mission is to protect the Brazilian economy against money laundering and the financing of terrorist acts. Coaf identified, in this case, an atypical movement that was not compatible with the financial capacity of the six involved in the case, who also did not declare such amounts to the Federal Revenue Service.

The damage caused throughout the country, according to the NIS, may have exceeded R$58 million. The scammers responsible for negotiating the auctioned goods (vehicles) led a luxurious lifestyle, lived in high-end condominiums and used high-value cars. Judge Sidney Eloy Dalabrida, coordinator of the NIS, highlights that the sector continues to act firmly in the repression of frauds that constantly occur in the virtual environment and that victimize the assets of the Judiciary.