Following the arrest of a pastor last Wednesday (20) in Jaragua do Sul, northern Santa Catarina, as part of Operation False Prophet, new information is beginning to emerge about the case of a financial scam led by a pastor from Brasilia who promised “blessings” on the amount of “one octillion reais”.

Maria Aparecida was arrested in Jaragua do Sul – Photo: Reproduction/ND

According to delegate Marco Aurelio Sepulveda, Pastor Maria Aparecida Gómez Barbosa was responsible for the administration and management of some of the social groups belonging to her superiors in the scheme, as well as for finding new victims.

The woman is from Patos, Paraiba state, and was at her daughter’s house in Jaragua do Sul at the time of the arrest. According to the Civil Police of the Federal District, there is no information yet on crimes committed by the pastor in the state of Santa Catarina. “In our case, she is being investigated for crimes committed in the Federal District,” explains the delegate.

Understand the pattern that the pastor was a part of.

Investigations show that the operators of the scheme, which involved the pastor, induced victims to make false investments with promises of millions in profits. To achieve this, those involved in the scheme told the victims that they were “chosen by God” to receive the alleged amounts.

“The promise is only about financial gain. Based on this conversation, they are blessed by a divine being,” the delegate leading the investigation details.

According to the Civil Police, it was discovered, for example, that a promise was made that only with a deposit of 25 reais would people be able to get back in “operations” the value of one octillion reais. Or a refund of up to 350 billion euros for a deposit of 2,000 reais.

The scam involving the pastor can be considered one of the largest ever investigated in Brazil, since the victims were people from different social classes and living in almost all units of the federation, the number of victims is estimated at more than 5 thousand people. . .

What the Pastor’s Defense Says

The ND Group report addressed the defense of Pastor Maria Aparecida Gomez Barbosa. In a statement, lawyers Mateus Ghisi da Silva and Daniel Louis Dower say the pastor is nothing more than “another victim” of the pastor who spearheaded the scheme. Watch in full:

“Lawyers Mateus Ghisi da Silva (OAB/SC 59.501) and Daniel Louis Dower (OAB/SC 65.112), who sponsor the defense of Mrs. Maria Aparecida Gomes Barbosa, explain that, contrary to the law and with great surprise, violating, Thus, individual guarantees of intimacy, privacy, as well as secrecy of data (in this case, the process is carried out in conditions of judicial secrecy), confidential information was disclosed and which depend on the exhaustion of the elements of guilt, under penalty of (im)appropriate use of the Criminal Law of the Author.

To date, as can be seen from the decision on the preventive detention of the candidate, there is no evidence and/or specific information in the case file that would justify the preventive isolation of Ms. Maria, since all the evidence listed by the Defense to date demonstrates that she is still one victim of the alleged Pastor Osorio, and not a criminal as social media wants to believe.

It is worth noting that any allegations made on social networks before the defense has given instructions to Ms Maria are rendered untrue, as national law regulates the right against self-incrimination (Article 5, LXIII, CR).

In addition, we emphasize that the images published on September 21, 2023 are subject to compensation for the exposure of photographs of an elderly person without permission, since, as stated in Article 5 of the Federal Constitution, the points of intimacy, privacy, honor and image of a person ensure the right to compensation for material or moral damage caused by its violation.”

Given the above, every person, without exception, has the right to a protected image, especially if we are talking about a photo taken on the premises of a civilian police station. And for these reasons, publication of material without prior permission will rightfully result in legal action being taken according to the grounds.

As for the general image published on social networks, it turns out to be undignified and erroneous, not corresponding to the fateful reality, given, in fact, that Ms. Maria was detained without presenting an arrest warrant at the entrance of the building. lives in this.

Finally, with regard to the image promoted by the civil police of Jaragua do Sul, appropriate measures will be taken, given that such behavior is completely suppressed by Law No. 13869 of September 5, 2019 (Law on Abuse of Power), which, in the final part of Article 28, considering that the legislator, in developing the retrospective provision, sought, simultaneously with the Civil Constitution, to protect the image of any and all prisoners by prohibiting its disclosure.”