A woman who took a corpse in a wheelchair to a Rio de Janeiro bank to try to withdraw a loan in the dead man's name was charged with vilification of a corpse and attempted theft by fraud.
Erika de Souza Vieira Nunes, whose unusual fraud attempt recorded on video by a bank employee went viral on social networks,
was arrested red-handed and formally charged with the two charges, reported the Civil Police of the Brazilian city.
The events occurred on Tuesday afternoon in a banking agency in Bangú, a populous neighborhood in the western area of Rio de Janeiro,
where the accused, 42 years old, came carrying the body of a 68-year-old man in a wheelchair. identified as Paulo Roberto Braga.
Vieira Nunes, who throughout the entire time had to hold the corpse's head upright so that it would not collapse,
tried to complete the procedures for a loan of 17,000 reais (about $3,200) that the man had requested virtually and withdraw the money.
Although the woman alleges that she is the man's niece and caregiver and that he was alive when he arrived at the bank agency, the experts stated that, due to stiffness and other symptoms,
Braga had died at least two hours before his arrival at the institution. .
The bank employees were alarmed by what they considered to be the serious health condition of the loan applicant and called the emergency services, who confirmed the death.
In some moments of the video, the supposed niece insists that her uncle sign the documentation to be able to complete the procedures and leave
and even manipulates his hands so that he grabs a pen and tries to sign.
"Man, you have to sign. The man has to sign. I can't sign for the man. The man has to hold the pen tightly and sign here," says the woman
while moving the corpse's hands in front of the bank employees, who They insist on warning that the man is having a bad time and is very pale.
Civil Police Commissioner Fábio Souza, responsible for the investigation, stated that he has already asked the Justice Department to order the definitive arrest of the accused and that he is trying to establish if she had any accomplices.
What happens if the owner of a bank account dies
There are many doubts about this issue. Can the balance be used after the death of the owner? Who can do it?
If the deceased was the sole owner, authorization from all of his heirs is required to withdraw his money.
If the account is joint, after the death of one owner, the other owners will not be able to use the money in it, unless they have the express consent of all the heirs of the deceased owner.
If the account is indistinct, the surviving owner may continue to use the money after the death of one of the owners.