Rio Judge Accepts Charges and Freezes Assets in Alleged Pension‑Fraud Case Involving Trajano de Moraes Vice‑Mayor

Overview

• The Ministério Público do Rio de Janeiro filed formal charges that a judge accepted on Monday, and the court suspended pension disbursements while ordering the freezing and seizure of bank accounts, properties and other assets tied to Hélio Luiz Fazoli and his ex‑wife Adriana Canes Peçanha.
• Prosecutors allege Fazoli fabricated a union stable with retired state procurator Ângela Marília, obtained a power of attorney to control her accounts, and used that paperwork to win approval for a RioPrevidência pension after her 2017 death despite an earlier INSS rejection.
• The MPRJ says the pension paid roughly R$ 6.8 million in gross benefits from 2017 to 2025 and calculates the net loss to public coffers at more than R$ 4.6 million, figures now central to the asset‑seizure and restitution claims.
• Judicially authorized bank forensics found recurring transfers from Fazoli to Adriana described by prosecutors as regular ‘mesada’ payments, which investigators say show an agreement to divide the pension money.
• RioPrevidência has halted further payments and will coordinate with the state attorney general; the defendants deny wrongdoing, say they will contest the case in court, and the outcome will depend on criminal rulings and parallel civil recovery actions.