A case of fraud that remained hidden for more than three decades came to light in Brazil, after Ana Lucia Umbelina Galache de Souza, 55, was convicted of improperly receiving a pension intended for the descendants of a World War II veteran.
According to the criteria of
The scheme began in 1986, when the woman, then 15 years oldchanged his name and presented false documents to the Brazilian Army with the help of her grandmother, Conceição Galache, to pose as the daughter of Vicente Zárate, a former member of the Brazilian Expeditionary Force (FEB).
Between November 1988 and June 2022, Ana Lucia, who adopted the surname Zarate, deceived the authorities and received a monthly pension that, over time, reached around 8,000 reais ($6,037,039, some Colombian pesos). ).
During this period, he accumulated a total of R$ 3.7 million fraudulently, as reported by ‘Metrópoles’ and confirmed by ‘O Globo’. The case remained hidden until 2021, when Ana Lucia’s grandmother, dissatisfied with the distribution of the money her granddaughter received, decided to report it to the Military Police of Mato Grosso do Sul.
“In 2021, Conceição, dissatisfied with the part of the pension transferred to her by her granddaughter, filed a fraud complaint with the Military Police. However, she was never questioned in the administrative investigation or in the police investigation, as she died in May 2022”, reported the process of the Federal Court of Accounts (TCU).
In her testimony, the grandmother revealed that Ana Lucia was not the daughter of Vicente Záratebut her great-niece, which disqualified her from receiving the pensionintended exclusively for spouses or direct descendants of deceased soldiers.
In 2023, the Brazilian Military Court sentenced Ana Lucia was sentenced to three years in prison and ordered to return the amounts received illegally. “Considering that the military benefit was received in an absolutely fraudulent manner, I judge the accounts of the person responsible to be irregular, I condemn her to the debt, whose updated value is R$ 3,194,516.77, and to the fine provided for in article 57 of the Law 8,443/1992,” wrote the rapporteur of the case, Minister Walton Alencar Rodrigues, in the process.
During interrogations, Ana Lucia admitted to being aware of the illegality of her actions. “In her interrogations, Ana Lúcia admitted to being aware of the falsification and illegality of her actions and declared that she only used the identity of Ana Lúcia Zárate to discuss issues related to military administration and pensions,” the TCU said. Despite her confession, Ana Lucia has appealed the sentence, alleging that she did not act with intent, that is, without intention to commit the crime, and that the conviction lacks sufficient evidence.
The case is not yet concluded. The Federal Public Defender’s Office, which represents Ana Lucia, confirmed that since September 2022 they have been assisting her in her defense, and the process is awaiting a resolution by the Superior Military Court (STM).
O Globo (Brazil) / GDA
Under the supervision of Daniel Biasetto.
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*This content was rewritten with the assistance of artificial intelligence, based on information from O Globo (GDA), and was reviewed by a journalist and an editor.
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