Family Loses R$ 11,000 in Scam by Fake Broker and Pix in Home Purchase in Rio — “He Had Full Access to the Condominiums”

Written by Felipe Alves da Silva

Published on 16/10/2025 at 13:26

Família perde R$ 11 mil ao cair em golpe do Pix com falso corretor que tinha acesso aos condomínios em São Cristóvão; caso é investigado pela Polícia Civil. Créditos: Imagem ilustrativa criada por IA – uso editorial.

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Housekeeper Bruna das Neves Believed She Was Negotiating Her First Property with a Licensed Realtor, but the Dream Became a Nightmare After Transferring R$ 11 Thousand via Pix. The Suspect, Who Had Access to the Condominiums and Keys to the Apartments, Was Investigated by the Civil Police for Fraud

The scam that caused a family from the North Zone of Rio de Janeiro to lose R$ 11 thousand is still making headlines a year later. In April 2024, housekeeper Bruna das Neves believed she was about to achieve the dream of home ownership by negotiating a property in São Cristóvão. What seemed like an opportunity turned into a nightmare: the man who presented himself as a realtor was, in fact, a fraudster.

The case gained attention at the time and became a symbol of the risks of the so-called “fake realtor scam”, a scheme where criminals infiltrate real estate company booths and gain the trust of unsuspecting buyers.

The Trust That Became a Trap

Bruna met the scammer after seeing an apartment ad on social media. She visited the Vivaz Construction booth, where she was attended by an employee and introduced to Roni Álvaro Bento Mathias, who claimed to be a licensed realtor.

ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW

Discovery of the Scam and Police Investigation

Days later, the supposed realtor began sending messages saying the contract had come “with an error.”

“Bruna, the contract came wrong, it has already been requested by the rightful party to be corrected. Today Vivaz itself charged Caixa,” he wrote in one of the messages.

It was at this moment that Bruna realized she had fallen for a scam. The family filed a police report at the 17th DP (São Cristóvão), and the case began to be investigated as fraud.

In a heartfelt moment, Bruna stated:

“I am 40 years old and have never owned a home. I wanted to provide a home for my children. I lost everything I had saved with so much effort.”

Scammer’s Background and Construction Company’s Position

The investigation revealed that Roni Álvaro Bento Mathias had previously been arrested in 2020, accused of passive corruption while working as an intern at the Public Defender’s Office. At that time, he charged fees from clients, promising to expedite legal processes — at least eight people filed police reports.

The Vivaz Construction stated that the man was not part of their associate roster and acted independently, improperly using the company’s name. In a statement sent to the press, Vivaz emphasized that they do not reserve properties and that payments should not be made directly to realtors.

The company also reported having taken civil and criminal measures to investigate the misuse of its brand and cooperate with the investigation.

Reflections and Legal Developments

The case reignited the debate on shared responsibility between construction companies and financial institutions in real estate scams. Consumer law experts remind that the STJ has understood that banks can be held liable for security failures in Pix transactions, and that construction companies should adopt control mechanisms over their representatives and access.

Although the process is still under investigation, the episode involving Bruna das Neves serves as a warning for buyers who negotiate properties outside official channels. Cases like this show that blind trust and the immediacy of digital transfers continue to be the biggest allies of scammers.

The information was originally reported by G1, with contributions from TV Globo, in a report published on April 29, 2024.

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Family Loses R$ 11,000 in Scam by Fake Broker and Pix in Home Purchase in Rio — “He Had Full Access to the Condominiums”

Housekeeper Bruna das Neves Believed She Was Negotiating Her First Property with a Licensed Realtor, but the Dream Became a Nightmare After Transferring R$ 11 Thousand via Pix. The Suspect, Who Had Access to the Condominiums and Keys to the Apartments, Was Investigated by the Civil Police for Fraud

The Trust That Became a Trap

Discovery of the Scam and Police Investigation

Scammer’s Background and Construction Company’s Position

Reflections and Legal Developments

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Family Loses R$ 11,000 in Scam by Fake Broker and Pix in Home Purchase in Rio — “He Had Full Access to the Condominiums”

Housekeeper Bruna das Neves Believed She Was Negotiating Her First Property with a Licensed Realtor, but the Dream Became a Nightmare After Transferring R$ 11 Thousand via Pix. The Suspect, Who Had Access to the Condominiums and Keys to the Apartments, Was Investigated by the Civil Police for Fraud

The Trust That Became a Trap

Discovery of the Scam and Police Investigation

Scammer’s Background and Construction Company’s Position

Reflections and Legal Developments

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A giant half-ton ring fell in Kenya from space, and more than a year later, scientists still do not know where it came from.

In Botswana, a salt flat of up to 16,000 km² that was once an African megalake spends months as an absolute white desert, but during the rainy season it transforms into a shallow sea that reappears from nowhere and can be seen from space in the middle of southern Africa.

Seen from space, an image taken by an astronaut shows an unlikely oasis in the Saudi Arabian desert, protected by a terrain that slows the advance of sand, surrounded by green circles, remnants of an extinct lake and nearly 10,000 years of preserved history.

Bavarian archaeologists unearthed a medieval skeleton that had an articulated iron hand in place of its left arm, and the discovery reveals that doctors were already creating sophisticated prosthetics over 500 years ago.

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