Woman in her 30s who pretended to be a child and lived with family found guilty of fraud
A Brazilian court convicted 37-year-old Amanda Maria Souza de Oliveira of fraud and false identity after she spent 14 months posing as a child while living with a foster family. The Court of Justice of Santa Catarina announced the verdict on Thursday, closing a case that saw an adult woman successfully deceive a family into believing she was a minor in need of care. The case highlights how a fabricated identity and claims of abuse can go undetected within a household for an extended period.
Oliveira reportedly gained entry into the family's home by claiming she was fleeing abuse, a story that persuaded them to take her in as their daughter. Her true age of 37 only emerged after more than a year of living under the false pretence, prompting the fraud investigation that led to her conviction this week.
- 37-year-old woman convicted of fraud and identity falsification for posing as a child to a foster family in Brazil
- Lived with the family under false pretences for 14 months, claiming to have fled abuse, before authorities uncovered the scheme
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Brazil's justice system has convicted a 37-year-old woman, Amanda Maria Souza de Oliveira, of fraud after she spent over a year pretending to be a child. She had told a family she was fleeing abuse, and they took her in as their daughter, believing she was a minor rather than an adult woman.
The deception lasted around 14 months before her real age came to light, prompting an investigation and eventual fraud charges. The Court of Justice of Santa Catarina, a regional court in southern Brazil, handed down the guilty verdict this week, bringing the case to a close.
The case has drawn attention because of how long the false identity went unnoticed within an ordinary household, raising questions about how such a deception could persist undetected for so long.