Twenty-three people were arrested this Sunday morning (7) suspected of applying the winning ticket scam in four states of Brazil. The arrests took place in Rio Grande do Sul, with 18 prisoners, Santa Catarina (1), Paraná (3) and Espírito Santo (1).
In addition, five other people who were already detained in the prison system are responsible for the crime.
In Rio Grande do Sul, Civil Police agents served arrest and search warrants in the municipalities of Passo Fundo, Caxias do Sul and Farroupilha. In Santa Catarina, actions took place in Itajaí, Camboriú and Balneário Camboriú.
In Paraná, warrants were served in Pinhais, São José dos Pinhais and in the municipality of Colombo. In Vila Velha, in Espírito Santo, civil police officers also made an arrest.
To the newspaper O Estado de São Paulo, the delegate of the 3rd DP of Canoas (RS), Luciane Bertoletti, said that among those arrested are the leaders of this gang.
“Today’s actions resulted in 23 suspects being arrested, 5 in Caxias do Sul and 13 in Passo Fundo, a city which is considered by the police as the ‘cradle of the winning ticket’”, he said.
According to Bertoletti, fraudsters even have “schools”, where they teach those interested in committing the crime.
According to her, the scam “consists of making the victim, usually an elderly person, believe that he/she is facing an opportunity to become a millionaire and is convinced” by the criminals.
The victim is approached on a public road and the swindler impersonates a humble person, who has a winning ticket in hand. Then other scammers appear on the scene, simulate help and confirm the alleged ticket as true.
Afterwards, the bandits simulate a phone call to the manager of a bank agency, who confirms the supposed ticket as true. Then, they convince the victim to transfer values and deliver cards to the false winner, as a guarantee for receiving the prize.
The victim innocently believes that he will keep part of the prize. Crime often occurs near banks.
Investigations began in 2021, when more than 20 victims, mostly elderly people, fell into the winning ticket coup. The Rio Grande do Sul Civil Police estimate damage of around R$ 1 million. The detainees will be framed in the crimes of embezzlement and criminal association.
Source: CNN Brasil
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