Justice acquits pastor after investigation into a R$3 million scam against faithful in Paraíba Social media A sentence from the 3rd Criminal Court of João Pessoa, signed by judge Ana Christina Soares Penazzi Coelho, acquitted pastor Péricles Cardoso de Melo and his wife of the suspected crime of continued embezzlement after the investigation into a scam worth around R$3 million against faithful in a church in João Pessoa. ? Click here to follow the g1 PB channel on WhatsApp According to the decision, although it was proven that Péricles Cardoso de Melo received loans, credit cards and transfers from dozens of faithful, causing significant losses, the prosecution was unable to demonstrate, beyond a reasonable doubt, that he already had the intention of deceiving the victims at the time he requested the amounts. According to the judge, the crime of embezzlement requires proof of a specific and antecedent intention, that is, the fraud must exist from the beginning of the negotiation, and not just result from the subsequent failure to fulfill the promise to pay. The ruling highlights that several witnesses reported that the pastor honored the first payments before failing to pay off his debts, which, for the judge, weakens the thesis of previously planned fraud. She also highlighted that no evidence was found of the accused's personal enrichment and that a large part of the resources were actually used in works and improvements to the church. In the judge's assessment, the set of evidence indicates, in practice, a picture of "financial foolishness and lack of control in the management of third-party resources". In relation to the pastor's wife, the judge concluded that there was no proof of participation in the alleged scheme. No person claimed to have been approached or convinced by her, and the testimonies indicated that all negotiations were conducted exclusively by Pericles.
Court acquits pastor after investigation into R$3 million scam against faithful in Paraíba
Justice acquits pastor after investigation into a R$3 million scam against faithful in Paraíba Social media A sentence from the 3rd Criminal Court of João Pessoa, signed by judge Ana Christina Soares Penazzi Coelho,...
The investigation against the pastor One of the victims of scams by a pastor in a church in João Pessoa spoke to TV Cabo Branco TV Cabo Branco More than 30 victims of scams were identified in the police investigation that was initially carried out against the pastor. The congregation where he was pastor was also the victim of theft, estimated at R$17,000. A victim of the evangelical pastor gave details of how the scam happened, in an interview with TV Cabo Branco, when the case was reported at the time. The man preferred not to be identified. He said the religious leader asked for money to make renovations to the church or as a donation to himself. But from the beginning, he found the way the pastor approached him, asking for contributions to reform the church, strange. “At first I thought it was strange, because he arrived with a machine, and then he said ‘you pass the card here’, we withdraw the amount and with that amount we buy construction materials, pay the labor, and things would happen”, he said. The victim said that he saw some reforms take place, but began to suspect that it was a scam when, after asking to borrow the faithful's card, the pastor delayed the payment for the first time. "I asked what happened, the pastor said that 'there was a problem with the machine, a problem with the bank, that I can't get the money', something more or less along those lines. I thought it was strange, but he was such a friendly person. He started crying saying he didn't want to dirty my name", he reports. With all the cards totaled after the pastor's scams, debts worth around R$90,000 were made in this victim's name alone, and the tendency is for the values ??to rise even further due to interest. "When all the cards were added together, it was approximately R$90,000. Today, due to interest, the debt is around R$140,000," he said. "He was making new victims, and one thing that helped a lot was that he asked for discretion. He said 'look, help your pastor, don't say anything to anyone'. When it came to carrying out the scams, he didn't spare anyone", he says. Most watched videos from g1 Paraíba
This story was originally published by G1. Visit the original publication for further details.
Open original publication
