Brazilian police announced on Wednesday August 10 the arrest of a woman accused of having extorted and robbed her own mother with the complicity of a false clairvoyant, notably stealing master paintings, for a booty estimated at 140 million euros.
A total of 16 paintings were stolen, including "
O Sono
" (Sleep) and "
Sol Poente
" (Sunset), two works by Tarsila do Amaral, one of the great figures of Brazilian modernism, both estimated at several dozen million euros, according to the local press.
The 82-year-old victim had inherited the fortune and works of art from her husband, Jean Boghici, a renowned collector who died seven years ago.
According to investigators, everything had been cleverly orchestrated for months by the girl to seize her mother's fortune.
Three of his accomplices have been arrested and two others are still wanted by the police.
"
Spiritual work
"
In early 2020, the victim was first approached by a so-called clairvoyant who told him that her daughter was seriously ill, before convincing her to pay astronomical sums to perform '
spiritual work
' to save her .
Five million reais (about 950,000 euros) were thus paid into the accounts of several accomplices.
Subsequently, the daughter fired her mother's domestic workers, to keep her isolated at home during the Covid-19 pandemic.
During this time, the elderly lady was stripped of her possessions, in particular her jewelry and the precious collection of paintings, with works by Tarsila do Amaral, but also by Di Cavalcanti, another renowned artist of Brazilian modernism.
Estimated at 250 million reais (about 47 million euros), "
Sol Poente
", a canvas painted by Tarsila do Amaral in 1929, was found under a bed base in the home of one of the arrested suspects.