USP student suspected of coup never raised suspicions among colleagues, says delegate

Zuleika Gonzalez Araújo, head delegate of the 16th DP (Vila Clementino), in São Paulo, who is investigating the case of Alicia Muller, a student at USP suspected of a scam involving the embezzlement of almost R$ 1 million from the fund of the graduation commission for students at the Faculty of Medicine at USP (University of São Paulo), which she never aroused suspicion among the other students. The 25-year-old student is expected to testify in the coming days.

This Wednesday (18), two witnesses and two victims were heard by the police and reported that Alicia was a dedicated student, from humble origins, who fought to get into college. The class was taken by surprise with the news of the embezzlement of money.

According to the delegate, students paid R$ 12,000 a year to the fund and those who declared themselves to be on low incomes paid half, R$ 6,000. Alicia was in this second category of students.

According to the investigation, Alicia made three withdrawals from the fund, one of R$600,000 and two of R$150,000 each. The student advised colleagues that she made the transfers and said that she lost the money on an investment. As soon as they found out, the students filed a complaint with the police.

Alicia is being investigated for embezzlement and money laundering.

Representatives of the company responsible for the graduation are also being heard. Police are still investigating whether other people were involved in the case.

In an interview with CNN, Alicia says she lost all the party money on lottery bets.

Via WhatsApp, she said that, after an investment “that didn’t work out”, she tried to get her graduation money back through Lotofácil bets – a type of lottery run by Caixa Econômica Federal. She did not detail how much money she invested in these bets.

Alicia said that despite winning a few games, she never managed to match all 15 numbers that entitle her to the main prize.