The case, which drew widespread attention due to its eerie similarities to cinematic thrillers like La huérfana, exposed a multi-state pattern of fraudulent adoption claims and elaborate identity deception.
How the 37-Year-Old Fraudster Infiltrated a Brazilian Family
According to court records and reports from TN.com.ar, the deception began on June 2, when Amanda Maria Souza de Oliveira approached a church in the Brazilian city of Joinville. Adopting the alias Gabriele Ferreira dos Santos, she told a local pastor that she had fled her home in the state of Pará to escape childhood sexual abuse and abandonment by her mother. Lacking identification documents and leveraging her claimed status as a vulnerable minor, she was taken in by the religious community.
A local family belonging to the church ultimately took her in, believing she was a 12-year-old runaway. To cement the illusion, the family prepared a child’s bedroom decorated with toys and threw her a birthday party. According to police statements cited by TN.com.ar, the accused maintained the persona by exhibiting infantilized behaviors—such as using baby bottles, pacifiers, and a sleeping doll, speaking in a high-pitched voice, and staging nighttime panic attacks. When questions arose regarding her physical height and adult features, she claimed she had been forced to take growth hormones during her childhood.
Cross-State Criminal History and Investigation Details
Police investigations revealed that this incident was part of a broader, repeated pattern of fraud spanning multiple Brazilian states. According to law enforcement and witness testimonies, the defendant had previously utilized aliases such as Karolina, Duda, and Emily across regions including São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Minas Gerais, Río Grande do Sul, and Goiás.
Nutritionist Renata Magalhaes stated that she met the defendant under the name Duda in Rio de Janeiro in 2023, where she had similarly claimed to be an autistic teenager. Digital forensic examinations of the defendant’s mobile phone showed months of targeted internet searches regarding how autistic minors behave and how to draw pictures designed to evoke sympathy from religious communities, according to Magalhaes’s testimony. The scheme unraveled in Joinville only after a relative of the adopting family grew suspicious and reported the situation to authorities.
Court Sentencing and Legal Consequences
The court ruled that the penalty must be served under an initial semi-open prison regime. The presiding judge maintained the defendant's preventive detention and denied her the right to file an appeal.
During the legal proceedings, defense attorney Lucio Sousa argued that his client’s actions stemmed from a desperate desire to belong rather than a malicious intent to defraud. “Fue la manera que encontró para sobrevivir. Pero ha sido una persona vulnerable durante más de 20 años,” Sousa argued, characterizing her actions as a survival mechanism resulting from long-term vulnerability.
Frequently Asked Questions
What was the real age of the woman who posed as a child?
According to court and police records, Amanda Maria Souza de Oliveira was 37 years old while pretending to be a 12-year-old child.
How long did the defendant live with the family in Joinville?
According to reports from TN.com.ar, she lived with the adopting family for approximately 14 months before relatives grew suspicious and alerted the police.
What sentence did the court hand down?
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