Aunt and Niece Arrested in Rio Over Forged Power of Attorney Bid on R$1 Million Inactive Account

Overview

• Bank staff flagged irregularities in the document, prompting plainclothes officers to follow the woman to a Barra da Tijuca bar where both suspects were detained in flagrante.
• Police say the attempt targeted an inactive account belonging to a Brazilian living in Australia, with a planned transfer of slightly more than R$1 million.
• The case was registered at the 12th Police Precinct in Copacabana on suspected fraud, and a custody hearing will determine whether the pair remain jailed.
• A Ceará notary confirmed the power of attorney presented at the branch was forged, according to investigators.
• The suspects, identified as Karine Moreth and her uncle, Amancio Siqueira Lima, confessed to the scheme, and police are probing how they obtained the account data and whether a Ceará resident planned the operation.