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Families in different states report abandoned works, contested reports, and high debts after financing for construction by Caixa, in cases that expose failures in the release of resources and leave buyers at risk of losing properties before even being able to live in them.
Families from different states claim to have been victims of fraud in real estate financing by Caixa Econômica Federal, after construction companies received large amounts based on progress reports that, according to expert reports and accounts, did not match what had been executed on the sites.
Revealed in a report aired by Fantástico, from TV Globo, the cases involve abandoned works, unfinished houses, debts exceeding R$ 200,000, and the risk of auctioning properties used as collateral in financing contracts.
Commonly, buyers report that they trusted the staged release system, but ended up without a house, without recovered money, and with the financing still open with the bank.
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In the construction credit model, resources are not released all at once, as Caixa pays installments according to technical reports indicating the physical progress of the financed property.
The complaints point to failures precisely at this stage, as documents reportedly indicated completion percentages much higher than reality and allowed construction companies to receive money before executing the planned services.
Caixa reports indicated advanced work, but the site remained abandoned
Among the reported cases is that of Izael Mendes and Marcela Teles, who contracted financing estimated between R$ 400,000 and R$ 500,000 to build their own home.
Three years after the start of the project, the family was still renting, while the site showed signs of abandonment and the work remained far from the stage reported in the documents sent to the bank.
Hired by the couple, the construction company Âmbar Prumo presented reports indicating more than 80% of the house completed, a percentage not confirmed by the expert report mentioned in the article.
According to the expert investigation, less than half of the construction had been executed, in addition to forged signatures attributed to Marcela in the documents used during the resource release process.
The couple’s frustration also appears in personal accounts, as Marcela said she spent two years unable to approach the work due to the emotional impact caused by the situation.
Already Izael stated that this would be the space where the couple’s daughter would grow up, but the project ended up becoming a debt difficult to manage and an unfinished construction.
After suspecting irregularities, the couple stopped paying the installments, a decision that brought another problem because the property is tied to the financing and may be auctioned to settle the debt.
Construction Financing in RS Exposes Actions of Former Employee
In Rio Grande do Sul, Guilherme Both and Bruna Both financed R$ 290,000 in 2022 to build a house in Alvorada, in the Metropolitan Region of Porto Alegre.
During the process, according to the couple, the guidance was conducted by Pedro André Marchese Sessegolo, linked to the construction company Vitruviana and presented as an employee of Caixa.
In this case as well, the work did not progress as the reports indicated, despite the construction company having received more than R$ 200,000 from the financing contracted by the family.
In the documents sent to the bank, stages such as roofing, electrical installations, plumbing installations, and coatings appeared as practically completed, although they had not yet been executed on the property.
Guilherme reported that the family did not master the details of the financing and, therefore, trusted the guidance received during the contracting and monitoring process of the construction.
In addition to the bank debt exceeding R$ 200,000, he claims to have paid R$ 62,000 directly to the construction company, an amount that increased the loss before the definitive halt of the work.
After an internal administrative process, Pedro André was dismissed from Caixa for just cause, but has not yet been convicted in court for the facts reported in the article.
The former employee is appealing against the dismissal in the Labor Court and denies having caused any financial loss to the bank during the handling of the cited contracts.
Loss in Financed Work Also Recognized in Pernambuco
A similar situation was reported in Pernambuco, where another couple denounced the construction company Multicons for charging amounts above what had been executed in the financed work.
The company was accused of appropriating the difference between the money released by the financing and the service actually performed on the buyers’ property.
In this case, the owner of Multicons was convicted of fraud, and the reported loss exceeded R$ 126,000, according to the elements mentioned in the article.
The defense, on the other hand, claims that the amounts received were fully applied to the construction and is appealing the court decision that recognized the criminal practice.
The repetition of reports in different states reinforces the fragility perceived by the victims, especially because the contracts depended on technical measurements to authorize new financial releases.
Unable to verify each percentage reported to the bank on their own, the buyers claim they relied on documents that did not reflect the actual progress of the contracted works.
Families question oversight in real estate financing
According to the report, Caixa informed that contracts of this type place the client as responsible for managing the construction payments and monitoring the execution of the work.
By the bank’s interpretation, when there is fraud committed by a construction company, the issue is usually treated as a relationship between the contractor and the company responsible for the services.
Even so, Caixa stated that it investigates any irregularities committed by employees and former employees, as occurred in the case related to the work in Rio Grande do Sul.
In the Gaucho situation, there was an internal process and dismissal for cause, although judicial accountability still depends on the progress of actions related to the narrated facts.
Experts interviewed in the report pointed out that inconsistencies in reports, such as forged signatures or percentages incompatible with the physical stage of the work, could have been identified before the release of new installments.
For the families, the lack of more rigorous verification allowed the money to be released without the construction practically keeping pace with the authorized payments.
The practical effect fell on buyers who were looking to leave renting or build a house for the family, but began to face charges and uncertainty about the property.
Besides remaining without the promised housing, they began to deal with overdue installments, the risk of losing the land, and difficulty in obtaining new loans.
Unfinished houses only advanced with new loans and family help
Even in the face of losses, not all victims gave up on the constructions, although resuming the works required new resources and support from relatives.
Renata and Michel, for example, invested more than R$ 386,000 before noticing irregularities in the progress of the work and needed to seek alternatives to complete the property.
To finish the house, the couple resorted to new loans and family help, taking on additional financial commitments to try to preserve the initial project.
The completion of the work did not eliminate the difficulties, as the gap left during the process continued to weigh on the budget and kept the family under financial pressure.
The situation shows that even when the house is delivered, the loss does not disappear with the keys, as the original debt remains and new commitments are usually assumed.
While some buyers try to reach agreements with the bank, others seek accountability in court to avoid losing the properties or recover part of the amounts paid.
In this dispute, houses that should represent stability have come to symbolize uncertainty, with incomplete structures, open contracts, and charges related to works not delivered as promised.
Cited construction companies deny irregularities and appeal in court
The construction company Âmbar Prumo stated, in a note, that all works were conducted within Caixa’s standards and that any accusations will be addressed in court.
According to the company, there were no irregularities in the procedures adopted during the execution of the constructions mentioned by the clients and the report aired by TV Globo.
Pedro André Marchese Sessegolo, identified as responsible for Vitruviana and a former Caixa employee, denies having caused financial damage to the bank in the mentioned contracts.
He also contests the dismissal for cause in the Labor Court, while the reported facts remain without a definitive judicial conviction informed against him.
The owner of Multicons, convicted of fraud, claims that the amounts received were fully applied to the work and appeals the court decision.
In the other cited cases, there is no definitive conviction informed, and families continue to seek accountability and alternatives to avoid losing the financed properties.
In many of the accounts, the financing that should have enabled home ownership has come to represent a long-term debt, without the counterpart of a construction delivered on time and as promised.
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