More than 50 accounts linked to a R$37 million scam are blocked in an attempt to compensate an elderly woman who was a victim

Retired woman loses R$37 million in false investment scam in RS The Rio Grande do Sul Judiciary decreed the blocking of at least 54 accounts of individuals and legal entities investigated in the false investment scheme that made a 70-year-old woman lose R$37 million. According to the Civil Police, the expectation is that the amounts found will be sufficient to compensate the victim. The information was detailed by the head of the State Department for the Suppression of Cybercrimes, delegate Eibert Moreira. The case is investigated in Operation Criptoabate, which investigates crimes of embezzlement through electronic fraud and money laundering. ? Access the g1 RS channel on WhatsApp The victim transferred his assets over six months, believing that he was investing in a platform with returns above the market average. According to the delegate, she only realized the scam when she tried to withdraw the money and started receiving new payment requests. "She spent months making transfers, believing that she was profitable on this platform. She made several contributions, she saw returns above the market average. And then, when she tried to make the final withdrawal, request the withdrawal from this finance company, her money was blocked, until she realized that she had fallen for a scam", said the delegate. Also this Friday (14), one of the targets of the operation was arrested at Santos Dumont Airport, in Rio de Janeiro, in an action by the Civil Police with support from the Federal Police. The man lives in Balneário Camboriú, in Santa Catarina, and, according to the investigation, was the owner of one of the financial institutions used in the scheme. According to the Civil Police, the group needed support in the financial system to hide the amounts obtained from the victims. In the case investigated, the money was converted from currency into cryptocurrency. "The entire fraud scheme needs support in the financial system to hide these amounts. There is no point in the criminal collecting this amount of money if he has no way of hiding it," he said. In total, 10 preventive arrests were ordered by the courts. Two people were arrested on Thursday (13), and a third was arrested this Friday morning. Police continue to try to locate the remaining targets. The investigation investigates a criminal organization suspected of operating a fraudulent investment platform. The Civil Police identified 140 possible victims in different states across the country. ? The police's guidance is to be suspicious of promises of profitability far above the market, platforms without verifiable credentials and requests for new deposits to release amounts that would have already been invested. According to the Civil Police, suspicious transactions carried out by those investigated total R$30 billion. The fraud is known internationally as "pig butchering", or "pig slaughter scam". The practice originates in Southeast Asia, in countries such as Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar, according to the Civil Police. According to the police, those investigated pretended to be employees of a company identified as TDASX, which closed after the investigations began. g1 tried to contact those responsible for TDASX, but had not located them until the last update of the report. Fictitious virtual balance, fake study community and website: what the sophisticated scheme was like that made a retiree lose R$37 million Civil Police VIDEOS: Everything about RS