RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – A Brazilian woman was recently apprehended on charges of presenting the dead body of a man in a wheelchair at a bank in Rio de Janeiro. She purportedly attempted to manipulate his hand to sign a document, thereby hampering bank operations. Érika de Souza Vieira Nunes, 42, was caught visibly in an extensively-shared video while committing the act.
The lifeless man, identified as Paulo Roberto Braga, aged 68, was Nunes’ alleged uncle and dependent, as per reports by The Washington Post. Nunes supposedly aimed at securing a loan worth approximately $3,250 using the deceased’s signature, according to the Brazilian police and Reuters.
In the viral video, Nunes is seen in a bank booth, trying to engage the unresponsive man in conversation while also maneuvering his lifeless body. She constantly asks him to sign the document, uttering phrases to insist on his participation.
Nunes was seen attempting to make the man, whose features clearly indicate his condition, appear active by adjusting his posture. Uncannily, she even smiled casually towards the camera.
Upon growing suspicious of her act, the bank staff alerted the local authorities. Nunes was subsequently arrested on charges of fraud theft, as well as corpse abuse.
The family lawyer of the accused denied the fraud allegations. The lawyer insists that Braga was alive upon reaching the bank and mentioned that Nunes was mentally distraught.
Drawing on a contradicting medical report, investigators analyzed that Braga had been dead for hours prior to the bank incident and was likely in a reclining posture during his passing.