A woman has been arrested after she was caught trying to use her deceased uncle’s corpse to co-sign a loan at a local bank in a in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
The bizarre incident happened on Tuesday, April 16, when Erika de Souza Vieira Nunes was filmed maneuvering the dead body of the elderly man into the bank, propping him up in a chair in an attempt to complete a loan application.
Captured on video, Nunes was seen desperately interacting with the corpse, urging him to sign off on a $3,400 loan.
“Uncle, are you listening? You need to sign [the loan contract]. If you don’t sign, there’s no way, because I can’t sign for you,” Nunes implored, as she manipulated his hand to hold a pen, further pleading, “Sign so you don’t give me any more headaches, I can’t take it anymore.”
The situation escalated when a bank employee, alarmed by the man’s pallor and unresponsive state, expressed concern, only to be brushed off by Nunes who claimed, “He is like that. He doesn’t say anything. Uncle, do you want to go to the [hospital] again?”
Bank staff were quick to act, calling the police who detained Nunes at the scene.
Investigations revealed that the deceased, 68-year-old Paulo Roberto Braga, had been dead for several hours before being brought to the bank.
“She tried to pretend to get him to sign the loan. He already entered the bank dead,” Police Chief, Fábio Luiz, told TV Globo, highlighting the need for further investigation to unravel the full extent of the fraud attempt and any possible accomplices.
Authorities are now probing into the circumstances surrounding Braga’s death, verifying Nunes’ claim as his niece, and exploring the involvement of other family members in this shocking attempt to commit bank fraud.
Nunes faces potential charges including theft through fraud, embezzlement, and abuse of a corpse.
